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   Pri·vate

   /ˈprīvət/

   

   adjective

   • 1. belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group of people only: "all bedrooms have private facilities" Similar personalone's ownindividualparticularspecialexclusiveprivately ownedOpposite public
   • ▪ (of a situation, activity, or gathering) affecting or involving only a particular person or group of people: "a small private service in the chapel" Similar confidentialstrictly confidentialsecrettop secretclassifiedunofficialoff the recordnot for publicationnot to be made publicnot to be disclosedclosetbackstageoffstageprivilegedone-on-onetête-à-têtecovertclandestinesurreptitiousin camerainformal:hush-hushOpposite openpublic
   • ▪ (of thoughts and feelings) not to be shared with or revealed to others: "she felt awkward intruding on private grief" Similar intimatepersonalsecretinnermostinwardunspokenundeclaredundisclosedunvoicedsneakinghidden
   • ▪ (of a person) not choosing to share thoughts and feelings with others: "he was a very private man" Similar reservedintrovertintrovertedself-containedreticentdiscreetuncommunicativenoncommunicativemedia-shyunforthcomingsecretiveretiringungregariousunsocialunsociablewithdrawnsolitaryinsularreclusivehermitlikehermiticOpposite extrovert
   • ▪ (of a meeting or discussion) involving only a small number of people and dealing with matters that are not to be disclosed to others: "this is a private conversation"
   • ▪ (of a place) quiet and free from people who can interrupt: "can we go somewhere a little more private?" Similar secludedsecretquietundisturbedconcealedhiddenremoteisolatedout of the waysequesteredOpposite busycrowded
   • 2. (of a person) having no official or public role or position: "the paintings were sold to a private collector"
   • ▪ not connected with one's work or official position: "he would continue to represent her in a private capacity as advisor and confidant" Similar unofficialpersonalnon-officialnonpublicOpposite official
   • 3. (of a service or industry) provided or owned by an individual or an independent, commercial company rather than by the government: "research projects carried out by private industry" Similar independentnon-state-controllednon-state-runprivatizeddenationalizednonpubliccommercialprivate-enterpriseOpposite publicnationalizedstate-controlled
   • ▪ relating to a system of education or medical treatment conducted outside the system of government and charging fees to the individuals who make use of it: "private education"
   • ▪ relating to or denoting a transaction between individuals and not involving commercial organizations: "it was a private sale—no agent's commission"

   noun

   • 1. a soldier of the lowest rank, in particular an enlisted person in the US Army or Marine Corps ranking below private first class.
   • 2. short for private parts informal

   Word Origin late Middle English (originally denoting a person not acting in an official capacity): from Latin privatus ‘withdrawn from public life’, a use of the past participle of privare ‘bereave, deprive’, from privus ‘single, individual’.

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • P

     3

   • R

     1

   • I

     1

   • V

     4

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

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