Link Centre Dictionary

private

pri·vate

UK/ˈpɹaɪ.vɪt/ US/ˈpɹaɪ.vət/ very common
adjective (4) noun (1)

adjective

1.

confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy

  • “a private place”
  • “private discussions”
  • “private lessons”
  • “a private club”
  • “a private secretary”
  • “private property”
  • “the former President is now a private citizen”
  • “public figures struggle to maintain a private life”
Antonyms
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2.

concerning things deeply private and personal

  • “private correspondence”
  • “private family matters”
Similar
3.

concerning one person exclusively

  • “we all have individual cars”
  • “each room has a private bath”
Synonyms
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4.

not expressed

  • “secret (or private) thoughts”
Synonyms
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noun

1.

an enlisted man of the lowest rank

  • “our prisoner was just a private and knew nothing of value”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English privat(e) (“individual, exclusive, private”), from Latin prīvātus (“bereaved, deprived, set apart from, release”), perfect passive participle of prīvō (“to bereave, deprive, release”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more), from prīvus (“private, one's own, proper”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per; compare prime, prior, pristine. Doublet of privy.

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See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.