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privileged

[priv-uh-lijd, priv-lijd]
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adjective
  1. belonging to a class that enjoys special privileges; favored: the privileged few.
  2. entitled to or exercising a privilege.
  3. restricted to a select group or individual: privileged information; a privileged position.
  4. Law. (of utterances or communications)
    1. not rendering the person making them liable to prosecution for libel or slander, in view of the attendant circumstances.
    2. not requiring any testimony concerning them to be presented in court.
  5. Navigation. (of a vessel) having the right of way.
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Compare burdened.

Origin of privileged

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at privilege, -ed2, -ed3
Related formsnon·priv·i·leged, adjectivequa·si-priv·i·leged, adjectiveun·priv·i·leged, adjective

privilege

[priv-uh-lij, priv-lij]
noun
  1. a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most: the privileges of the very rich.
  2. a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities: the privilege of a senator to speak in Congress without danger of a libel suit.
  3. a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
  4. the principle or condition of enjoying special rights or immunities.
  5. any of the rights common to all citizens under a modern constitutional government: We enjoy the privileges of a free people.
  6. an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person: It's my privilege to be here.
  7. Stock Exchange. an option to buy or sell stock at a stipulated price for a limited period of time, including puts, calls, spreads, and straddles.
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verb (used with object), priv·i·leged, priv·i·leg·ing.
  1. to grant a privilege to.
  2. to exempt (usually followed by from).
  3. to authorize or license (something otherwise forbidden).
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Origin of privilege

1125–75; (noun) Middle English; earlier privilegie (< Old French privilege) < Latin prīvilēgium orig., a law for or against an individual, equivalent to prīvi- (combining form of prīvus one's own) + lēg- (see legal) + -ium -ium; (v.) Middle English privilegen (< Middle French privilegier) < Medieval Latin prīvilēgiāre, derivative of prīvilēgium
Related formspriv·i·leg·er, nounpro·priv·i·lege, adjective

Synonyms

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1. Privilege, prerogative refer to a special advantage or right possessed by an individual or group. A privilege is a right or advantage gained by birth, social position, effort, or concession. It can have either legal or personal sanction: the privilege of paying half fare; the privilege of calling whenever one wishes. Prerogative refers to an exclusive right claimed and granted, often officially or legally, on the basis of social status, heritage, sex, etc.: the prerogatives of a king; the prerogatives of management. 4. license, freedom, liberty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

honoredpowerfulempoweredrulingadvantagedindulgedentitledokaysanctionedgrantedfurnishedfreelicensedqualifiedauthorizedvestedokayedcharteredspecialeligible

Examples from the Web for privileged

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I have been privileged to take them home and arrange them in my room and Dana's.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • The mountain tops are only noble because from them we are privileged to behold the plains.

    Alarms and Discursions

    G. K. Chesterton

  • But what the privileged orders can no longer prevent, they are determined to stultify.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • A million of its inhabitants are members of the privileged classes.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • My sex, you may have heard, is privileged to change of mind.

British Dictionary definitions for privileged

privileged

adjective
  1. enjoying or granted as a privilege or privileges
  2. law
    1. not actionable as a libel or slander
    2. (of a communication, document, etc) that a witness cannot be compelled to divulge
  3. nautical (of a vessel) having the right of way
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privilege

noun
  1. a benefit, immunity, etc, granted under certain conditions
  2. the advantages and immunities enjoyed by a small usually powerful group or class, esp to the disadvantage of othersone of the obstacles to social harmony is privilege
  3. any of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of a country by its constitution
    1. the right of a lawyer to refuse to divulge information obtained in confidence from a client
    2. the right claimed by any of certain other functionaries to refuse to divulge informationexecutive privilege
  5. the rights and immunities enjoyed by members of most legislative bodies, such as freedom of speech, freedom from arrest in civil cases during a session, etc
  6. US stock exchange a speculative contract permitting its purchaser to make optional purchases or sales of securities at a specified time over a limited period of timeSee also call (def. 61), put (def. 20), spread (def. 24c), straddle (def. 9)
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verb (tr)
  1. to bestow a privilege or privileges upon
  2. (foll by from) to free or exempt
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Word Origin

C12: from Old French privilēge, from Latin prīvilēgium law relevant to rights of an individual, from prīvus an individual + lēx law
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

Word Origin and History for privileged

adj.

late 14c. of things; mid-15c. of persons, past participle adjective from privilege (v.).

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privilege

n.

mid-12c. "grant, commission" (recorded earlier in Old English, but as a Latin word), from Old French privilege "right, priority, privilege" (12c.) and directly from Latin privilegium "law applying to one person, bill of law in favor of or against an individual," later "privilege," from privus "individual" (see private (adj.)) + lex (genitive legis) "law" (see legal (adj.)). Meaning "advantage granted" is from mid-14c. in English.

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privilege

v.

early 14c., privilegen, "to invest with a privilege," from privilege (n.) and from Old French privilegier (13c.), from Medieval Latin privilegare, from Latin privilegium. Related: Privileged; priviledging.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper