Entry Word: private

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 not known or meant to be known by the general populace <that he is planning to retire is private information until he makes a public announcement>

Synonyms confidential, hushed, inside, intimate, nonpublic, privy, secret

Related Words classified, top secret; unadvertised, unannounced, undisclosed, unmentioned; clandestine, collusive, conspiratorial, covert; surreptitious, undercover, underhand, underhanded; personal; closeted, concealed, hidden; repressed, silenced, stifled, suppressed

Near Antonyms well-known; advertised, aired, announced, blazed, broadcast, declared, disclosed, divulged, enunciated, heralded, proclaimed, professed, promulgated, publicized, published, reported, spotlighted; general, popular, prevailing, vulgar; prevalent, rife, widespread; communal, shared

Antonyms common, open, public

2 undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others <a private investigation of the organizationʼs activities> — see secret 1
3 of, relating to, or belonging to a single person <club lockers in which private property may be stored> — see individual 1