confidential

adjective

con·​fi·​den·​tial ˌkän-fə-ˈden(t)-shəl 

1

a

: intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class : private, secret

confidential information

b

: containing information whose unauthorized disclosure could be prejudicial to the national interest compare secret, top secret

2

: marked by intimacy or willingness to confide

a confidential tone

3

: entrusted with confidences (see confidence sense 4)

a confidential clerk

confidentiality

ˌkän-fə-ˌden(t)-shē-ˈa-lə-tē 

noun

confidentially

ˌkän-fə-ˈden(t)-sh(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of confidential

• private
• secret
• classified
• personal
• undisclosed
• esoteric
• intimate

Examples of confidential in a Sentence

These documents are completely confidential.

“I have something to tell you,” John said in a confidential tone.

Her voice was quiet and confidential.

She worked as a confidential secretary to the mayor for many years.

Recent Examples on the Web

An OpenAI engineer was arrested and charged for allegedly attempting to secretly record confidential conversations inside the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco offices, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026

Separate the explanation a buyer needs from the confidential details of an engagement. — Dennis Kirwan, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Levandowski defected to Uber, allegedly taking fourteen thousand confidential design files with him. — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

The court documents also note that Mosleh made the sale of the products to a confidential informant after Strang's and Hamilton's deaths, even warning the informant that people had been dying from the product. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin confīdentia, taken as base of confidence entry 1 + -al entry 1 (perhaps after French confidentiel)

First Known Use

1740, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for confidential

• differential
• evidential
• inessential
• inferential
• pestilential
• quintessential
• unessential
• equipotential
• experiential
• geopotential
• jurisprudential
• nonresidential

Kids Definition

confidential

adjective

con·​fi·​den·​tial ˌkän-fə-ˈden-chəl 

1

: secret entry 1 sense 1a, private

confidential information

2

: indicating or suggesting closeness : intimate

a confidential tone of voice

3

: trusted with secret matters

a confidential secretary

confidentially

-ˈdench-(ə-)lē 

adverb

Legal Definition

confidential

adjective

con·​fi·​den·​tial ˌkän-fi-ˈden-chəl 

1

: known or conveyed only to a limited number of people

a confidential disclosure

2

: marked by or indicative of intimacy, mutual trust, or willingness to confide especially between parties one of whom is in a position of superiority

the confidential relationship of doctor and patient

3

: containing information whose unauthorized disclosure could be prejudicial to the national interest

confidentiality

ˌkän-fi-ˌden-chē-ˈa-lə-tē 

noun

confidentially adverb