private

[prahy-vit]

adjective

1. belonging to some particular person.

   private property.

2. pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal.

   for your private satisfaction.

   Synonyms: peculiar, particular, singular
   Antonyms: public, general

3. confined to or intended only for the persons immediately concerned; confidential.

   a private meeting.

4. personal and not publicly expressed.

   one's private feelings.

5. not holding public office or employment.

   private citizens.

6. not of an official or public character; unrelated to one's official job or position.

   a former senator who has returned to private life;

   a college president speaking in his private capacity as a legal expert.

7. removed from or out of public view or knowledge; secret.

   private papers.

8. not open or accessible to the general public.

   a private beach.

9. undertaken individually or personally.

   private research.

10. without the presence of others; alone.

    Let's go into another room where we can be private.

    Synonyms: retired

11. solitary; secluded.

    He wants to meet us in a more private place.

12. preferring privacy; retiring.

    a very private person.

13. intimate; most personal.

    private behavior.

14. of, having, or receiving special hospital facilities, privileges, and services, especially a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours.

    a private room;

    a private patient.

15. of lowest military rank.

16. of, relating to, or coming from nongovernmental sources.

    private funding.

noun

1. a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.

2. privates. private parts.

private

/ ˈpraɪvɪt /

adjective

1. not widely or publicly known

   they had private reasons for the decision

2. confidential; secret

   a private conversation

3. not for general or public use

   a private bathroom

4. (prenominal) individual; special

   my own private recipe

5. (prenominal) having no public office, rank, etc

   a private man

6. (prenominal) denoting a soldier of the lowest military rank

   a private soldier

7. of, relating to, or provided by a private individual or organization, rather than by the state or a public body

   the private sector

   private housing

8. (of a place) retired; sequestered; not overlooked

9. (of a person) reserved; uncommunicative

10. in secret; confidentially

noun

1. a soldier of the lowest rank, sometimes separated into qualification grades, in many armies and marine corps

   private first class

Other Word Forms

• privately adverb
• privateness noun
• quasi-private adjective
• quasi-privately adverb
• unprivate adjective
• unprivately adverb
• unprivateness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of private¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin prīvātus “private,” literally, “taken away (from public affairs),” special use of past participle of prīvāre “to rob”; deprive, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of private¹

C14: from Latin prīvātus belonging to one individual, withdrawn from public life, from prīvāre to deprive, bereave

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in private, not publicly; secretly.

   The hearing will be conducted in private.

More idioms and phrases containing private

• free (private) enterprise
• in private

Example Sentences

A difficult co-worker, she’s not only in everybody’s private business but she seethes with resentment when her customers defect to her colleagues.

From Los Angeles Times

Those that aren’t taken in by a private owner are shipped to pastures where they often live out their remaining days.

From Los Angeles Times

People seeking asylum are housed in "miserable" conditions while "millions in public money… is simply taken in profit by a handful of private companies", says the letter.

From BBC

The Green Party has committed itself to phasing out private landlords from the housing system.

From BBC

In the process, tensions between public and private nursing schools have flared as they battle for resources to expand their programs.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• confidential 
• exclusive 
• independent 
• individual 
• secret 
• separate 
• special