privy
44
8.7
- adjective
- /ˈprɪvi/
- Formal
- Mrs. Jones should not be privy to information from the first-grade teacher.
- privy to a secret
- privy to information
- become privy to
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Watch on YouTubeSo unfortunately, she just wasn't Privy to the conversations that we had.
- So unfortunately, she just wasn't Privy to the conversations that we had.
- He thinks lots of things when we're not Privy to what is going on in the narrative.
- You were the only person Privy to the experience of the dream itself.
- So there's a whole network of things that happen constantly that we are never Privy to because no one's saying I did this for you.
- It's that strong, you know, and to believe, obviously the Stoics weren't Privy to the work of the evolutionary theory.
- I am clearly not Privy to the reasons because things are fine with me and my parents.
- Like the process seems really glamorous from the outside because you don't, because we're not Privy to a lot of the details of how this works.
- So they've seen things, he's seen things that lots of lots of parts of the country haven't been Privy to.
- Well, you know, I, I don't know because I'm not a, I'm not Privy to the knowledge that the FBI or CIA or NSA has.
Examples
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Even I am not privy to its records.
-
She felt privileged to be privy to the discussions about the surprise party.
-
You were the only person Privy to the experience of the dream itself.
-
I was not privy to that thought process.
-
No one except you is privy to the full scope of the Hours.
Fiction book (1992) -
I'm not privy to their list of donors.
-
The American public was also privy to stories detailing the "atrocities" of Chinese life.
Academic text (1999) -
If it is true, it is most material and the jury ought to be privy to that knowledge, don't you think?
-
Yet, most doctoral students are not privy to the complexities of their advisor's position.
Academic text (2001) -
As a lawyer, he is privy to confidential information about his clients.
Synonyms
23
8.1
A person who knows secret or new information most people do not have
12
8.2
Aware of a secret or dishonest plan
Antonyms
Compounds
1
9.9
A senior UK government official who has an old title, no set duties, and sometimes has extra responsibilities
- UK
1
9.9
A money allowance for a king or queen to pay personal expenses separate from government money
How Informed
Surface Forms
Etymology
Privy comes from an old Latin root priv- meaning 'private' or 'set apart', the same idea you see in the English word private. So if you are privy to a matter, you are one of the few kept 'in private' and allowed to know the secret.