as in secretly
in a manner intended to prevent knowledge or awareness by others
she confided to me privately that she was considering divorce
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of privately
The controversy has sparked concerns for leaders across Lake County, and various officials have publicly and privately begun distancing themselves from the project.
—
Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Tesla has lost arbitration proceedings in some cases and privately settled others while publicly denying wrongdoing.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 June 2026
Again and again, grieving parents described children who continued functioning outwardly — going to school, maintaining friendships, playing sports and making plans for the future — even while privately struggling.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026
Instead, it will be privately run by the Obama Foundation.
—Luke Fountain, CNBC, 4 June 2026
The move to Adelaide Cottage gave George, Charlotte and Louis plenty of space to play, as the house is tucked within the 4,800-acre Windsor Great Park and inside the 650-acre Home Park, privately managed by the Crown Estate.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 4 June 2026
Bernstein had a therapist meet with her privately, as well as with her parents.
—Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2026
Meanwhile, Pelley’s allies are privately calling the CBS bosses malicious.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
The government says the land earmarked for the project is privately owned.
—ABC News, 3 June 2026
Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
Tesla has lost arbitration proceedings in some cases and privately settled others while publicly denying wrongdoing.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 June 2026
Again and again, grieving parents described children who continued functioning outwardly — going to school, maintaining friendships, playing sports and making plans for the future — even while privately struggling.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026
Instead, it will be privately run by the Obama Foundation.
—Luke Fountain, CNBC, 4 June 2026
The move to Adelaide Cottage gave George, Charlotte and Louis plenty of space to play, as the house is tucked within the 4,800-acre Windsor Great Park and inside the 650-acre Home Park, privately managed by the Crown Estate.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 4 June 2026
Bernstein had a therapist meet with her privately, as well as with her parents.
—Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2026
Meanwhile, Pelley’s allies are privately calling the CBS bosses malicious.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
The government says the land earmarked for the project is privately owned.
—ABC News, 3 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for privately
Adverb
-
However, Jimmy discovers that Michael was secretly selling the voice and likeness of clients to AI companies without their consent and uses that revelation to blackmail him into stepping down.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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Sun also pleaded guilty to charges that accused him of secretly working for China and was sentenced this year to four years in prison.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Adverb
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After Anthropic raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation last week, and then confidentially filed S-1 draft to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, using company stock in exchange for housing has likely only perked more employees’ ears.—
Jacqueline Munis,
Fortune,
7 June 2026
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Anthropic, known for its family of large language models called Claude, confidentially filed its IPO prospectus on Monday.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Privately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/privately. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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