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

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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 The ministry said private businesses would provide funding while the government would offer financial and administrative assistance. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026 The hotel previously shut down in 2005 for a renovation that converted many of its original guest rooms into private residences before reopening in 2008. — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026 The hotel also has its own private heliport, should that be of interest. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026 Junior Kelsey Chandler, who is studying to become a private pilot, said the program has pushed her outside of her comfort zone. — Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 16 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
  • And a later district filing to the state acknowledged that more than 500 people who worked for district contractors likely had Social Security numbers and other confidential information exposed.
    — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Ziccarelli said that Cochran claimed the charges were withdrawn because the defendant was working as a confidential informant.
    — Mike Darnay, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of confidential
Adjective
  • Bridgers’ tour restricts phones, so the reader’s account had to stand in for the clandestine photo that might otherwise have accompanied the sighting.
    — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The Soviet Union operated an extensive clandestine biological weapons program despite being a party to the Biological Weapons Convention.
    — Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of clandestine
Adjective
  • Hemsworth’s work has always spanned genres—just look at his omnivorous DJ sets—but Numbskull positions him as a more traditional songwriter, underscored by the album’s personal, earnest tone.
    — Mehan Jayasuriya, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The magnitude of the devastation is made personal for all of us.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of personal
Adjective
  • Perhaps that doubt is the secret melancholy at the heart of even their most seemingly celebratory songs.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • On Monday, a court granted the US government’s request to deny release of a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a top-secret conference room to steal the frontier lab’s secrets.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of secret
Adjective
  • But his father, also named William, became a supporter — and even went undercover of sorts at her 2021 fraud trial.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The federal indictment identifies instructions directing undercover Cuban spies not to fly with Brothers to the Rescue around the time of the attack.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of undercover
Adjective
  • Technogym Checkup supports operators across fitness, health care, hospitality and corporate wellness environments to deliver more personalized and measurable experiences.
    — Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The service Service is polished, attentive, and highly personalized.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of personalized
Adjective
  • Deep underground, iron-rich rocks could hold the key to producing hydrogen at a fraction of the cost of conventional fuels.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Additionally, the estate includes elevator service to all three floors, 25-yard lap pool, outdoor kitchen, veranda with stone fireplace and underground seven-car garage with Tesla charging station.
    — Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of underground
Adjective
  • But their subjective descriptions were a little more informative.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Kant argued that aesthetic judgments are both subjective and presumptively universal.
    — Lola Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 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 24 Oct. 2026.

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