private citizen
39
3.2
- noun
- /ˈpraɪvɪt ˈsɪtɪzən/
:
ciudadano particular
- As a private citizen, he felt it was his duty to vote in the election.
- private citizens and government
- rights of private citizens
- allow private citizens
It is no crime for Van Vote as a private citizen to wish that this were not so.
- It is no crime for Van Vote as a private citizen to wish that this were not so.
- And that applies to private citizens, right?
- It does this by keeping legal the rights of private citizens to bear arms for use in a militia.
- Was it a malicious private citizen?
- Musk is a private citizen taking control of established government offices.
- Your home is protected by a property rule, criminal trespass with regard to taking by a private citizen, but only a liability rule.
- Democrats claim to want to unify the country, but impeaching a former president, a private citizen, is the antithesis of unity.
- And this is frightening for all Americans that a private citizen, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, now has access to all this data.
- This is a case about whether states can circumvent rights by allowing private citizens to bring lawsuits that would make it impossible for people to exercise their rights.
- And she's not sued these people who she's a private citizen.
Examples
-
And this is frightening for all Americans that a private citizen, the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, now has access to all this data.
-
All I want, Mr. Baker, is to walk in there, just as a private citizen, a mother.
Fiction book (1995) -
But what can private citizens do?
-
Commercial drivers had insurance problems with it, and private citizens were getting worried about it.
Fiction book (2002) -
Not bad for a private citizen.
-
"We have a fund to compensate private citizens for damage to their property," he said.
Fiction book (1995) -
"Now imagine that I continue the research as a private citizen."
Fiction book (1999) -
At its heart, this bill gives private citizens access to lands they technically already own.
-
I'm just a private citizen.
-
I speak as a private citizen, as a middle-aged Italian father of four.
Synonyms
A person who has no formal power to make decisions
Antonyms
How Official
- Formal
49
3.5
- UK
5
3.7
118
3.2
109
3.0
39
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an ordinary person who does not hold any official or public position' is directly derivable from combining 'private' (not public/personal) with 'citizen' (a member of the state). This adjective+noun composition follows a regular compositional pattern and has clear equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Private citizen may come from the simple picture of a private person and a citizen, someone who lives in the community but does not hold a public job. So, it means 'an ordinary person' with no 'official role' in government.