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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Recent Examples of privately
Giant Eagle, which is privately held, has 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies across northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.
—
Michelle Chapman,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2026
Glazer reminded him of the presumption of innocence and told him not to discuss what happened during his arrest, only to speak privately with his attorney.
—
Ana Maria Soler,
CBS News,
2 July 2026
Like the Obama Presidential Center, which opened earlier this month, the Roosevelt Library is privately operated.
—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
1 July 2026
Be deliberate about calling out good work, publicly and privately.
—
Braden Yuill,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2026
In December, Prince Harry wrote privately to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, requesting a full security risk assessment to reassess threat levels for the first time since 2020, according to The Guardian.
—
Tracy Wright , Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
1 July 2026
Gen asks to speak to Luke privately, and his ready agreement is all Joy needs to see to understand what’s going on.
—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
30 June 2026
The government says the land is privately owned, but rival claims over its privatization have emerged.
—
ABC News,
28 June 2026
Lasting change hinges less on what any coach does or says — publicly or privately.
—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
28 June 2026
Michelle Chapman,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2026
Glazer reminded him of the presumption of innocence and told him not to discuss what happened during his arrest, only to speak privately with his attorney.
—
Ana Maria Soler,
CBS News,
2 July 2026
Like the Obama Presidential Center, which opened earlier this month, the Roosevelt Library is privately operated.
—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
1 July 2026
Be deliberate about calling out good work, publicly and privately.
—
Braden Yuill,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2026
In December, Prince Harry wrote privately to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, requesting a full security risk assessment to reassess threat levels for the first time since 2020, according to The Guardian.
—
Tracy Wright , Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
1 July 2026
Gen asks to speak to Luke privately, and his ready agreement is all Joy needs to see to understand what’s going on.
—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
30 June 2026
The government says the land is privately owned, but rival claims over its privatization have emerged.
—
ABC News,
28 June 2026
Lasting change hinges less on what any coach does or says — publicly or privately.
—
Paul Tenorio,
New York Times,
28 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for privately
Adverb
-
In 2008 the couple were secretly married, prosecutors claim, for health insurance purposes after David was fired from his church job for providing alcohol to underage members.
-
Every resident of Rhode Island has spent the past year trading stories about this guy whose friend knows a guy (usually an EMT or firefighter) who told them for a fact where/when this wedding is secretly booked.
Adverb
-
Baidu confidentially filed a listing application for Kunlunxin on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the start of the year, though offering details, including size and structure, were undecided then.
-
Anthropic and OpenAI have each confidentially submitted IPO paperwork to the SEC, though neither has set a public offering date.
Cite this Entry
“Privately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/privately. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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