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Synonyms

private

American  
[prahy-vit] / ˈpraɪ vɪt /

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.

idioms

  1. in private, not publicly; secretly.

    The hearing will be conducted in private.

private British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

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

    private first class

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
private More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing private


Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of private

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

ADP’s measure of private payrolls has been largely flat during the second half of 2025, though job growth has remained in positive territory for the three weeks ending Dec. 6.

From Barron's

Financial-software company OneStream said Tuesday that Hg had agreed to take the firm private as a majority voting shareholder through its Saturn Fund.

From The Wall Street Journal

He’s a private citizen who wrote books and gave interviews critical of Western policy on Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal

If the software company were to be taken private, it would come a year and a few months after its initial public offering.

From Barron's

Get serious about a national AI retraining program: This effort should leverage the private sector and the nation’s community-college system to offer hands-on courses across a broad range of fields and sectors.

From MarketWatch