Dictionary
pri•vate
Pronunciation: (prī'vit), [key]—
adj.
1. belonging to some particular person:
private property.
2. pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal:
for your private satisfaction.
3. confined to or intended only for the persons immediately concerned; confidential:
a private meeting.
4. personal and not publicly expressed:
one's private feelings.
5. not holding public office or employment:
private citizens.
6. not of an official or public character:
private life.
7. removed from or out of public view or knowledge; secret:
private papers.
8. not open or accessible to the general public:
a private beach.
9. undertaken individually or personally:
private research.
10. without the presence of others; alone.
11. solitary; secluded.
12. preferring privacy; retiring:
a very private person.
13. intimate; most personal:
private behavior.
14. of, having, or receiving special hospital facilities, privileges, and services, esp. a room of one's own and liberal visiting hours:
a private room; a private patient.
15. of lowest military rank.
16. of, pertaining to, or coming from nongovernmental sources:
private funding.
—
n.
1. a soldier of one of the three lowest enlisted ranks.
2. privates. See
private parts.
3. in private, not publicly; secretly:
The hearing will be conducted in private. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
