private

adjective

ˈprī-vət How to pronounce private (audio)
Definition of privatenext
1
as in confidential
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clandestine
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others a private investigation of the organization's activities

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in personal
of, relating to, or belonging to a single person club lockers in which private property may be stored

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of private One of the helicopters was operated by Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a helicopter flight training school and rental service for private flights, the company said in a statement. — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026 Underdog has had conversations with the city for a public-private partnership that would allocate about $560 million (€500 million) in funding to renovate SSC Napoli’s home venue, Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2026 Participating employers can be public, private, nonprofit, a school, or even a government agency. — Bob Helbig, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026 Cars offered a private space where young people could spend time with one another away from parental supervision. — Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for private
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private
  1. confidential
  2. clandestine
  3. personal
  4. secret
  5. undercover
  6. personalized
  7. underground
  8. subjective
Adjective
  • In April, a US Army soldier was arrested and charged with using confidential information to make $410,000 in Polymarket bets on the timing of the military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Keeping the information confidential was consistent with state protocol, a spokesperson in his department said, adding that it was still shared with local health officials.
    — Nat Lash, ProPublica, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of confidential
Adjective
  • There was something sad in our meetups always having to be clandestine.
    — Erica Garza, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The arrest, the official explained, came after the Attorney General’s Office concluded that there had been misconduct in an April operation in which state officials dismantled a clandestine drug-manufacturing laboratory.
    — Mauricio Torres, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of clandestine
Adjective
  • By tonight, conversation picks up again in a more personal way.
    — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Thoughtful details like a yoga mat, a fresh jar of bath salts, and a book left in the bathroom make the stay feel more personal than most.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of personal
Adjective
  • Arthur is dying for the family to find out about Reggie’s son Carmelo (Jalyn Hall) and his secret relationship with Delilah Basmati (Arica Himmel), daughter of Reggie’s nemesis, Jerry Basmati (Craig Robinson).
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Any information shared with prosecutors will be kept secret, the Dutch authorities said in a statement.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of secret
Adjective
  • He is helped by his god-daughter Saga (Zazie Beetz), who is a top FBI agent willing to go undercover in a psychiatric hospital to get close to Walter.
    — Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 4 Nov. 2026
  • With additional use of FLOCK cameras, the suspect vehicle was located by undercover officers traveling south on Missouri 291 in Liberty.
    — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of undercover
Adjective
  • Now, the high school reunion lives in the device in our hands, capable of giving anyone quantitative signals from a vast reference group at any moment on our personalized scoreboards of social approval.
    — Ashwini Nadkarni, Time, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The company's Atera platform is helping produce data sets to train AI models, a process that helps accelerate personalized therapies.
    — Paulina Likos, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of personalized
Adjective
  • The Finnish Government has granted Posiva Oy an operating license for the world’s first permanent underground repository for spent nuclear fuel.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Part of what a racist superstructure creates is the need for some kind of underground economy.
    — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of underground
Adjective
  • There seems to be a certain level of inconsistency among those subjective calls even though different standards are applied for each violation.
    — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 3 Nov. 2026
  • In contrast, consciousness is the ability to feel pain, pleasure, love and have subjective experiences.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of subjective

Phrases Containing private

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privacy
private
private detective
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Cite this Entry

“Private.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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