privacy means the state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others.
privacy is pronounced /ˈpɹɪv.ə.si/.
Why “privacy” is a great word
The state of being free from unwanted or unauthorized observation or intrusion into one's personal life. From private (from Latin privatus, "withdrawn from public life, belonging to oneself") + the noun-forming suffix -acy, meaning "state or quality of being." Unlike "seclusion," which implies a physical removal from view, or "secrecy," which denotes an active concealment of facts, privacy is the broader, often fragile right to a self-contained interiority. It is the unspoken agreement not to look too long at a stranger weeping on the subway, the unread diary left open on a desk, the silent space between two thoughts in a crowded room—a small, defensible territory of the self, sustained not by walls alone, but by the invisible membrane of social respect that makes solitude possible even in the presence of others.
Etymology
From priv(ate) + -acy.
noun
- The state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others.e.g.“I need my privacy, so please stay out of my room.”
- Freedom from unwanted or undue disturbance of one's private life.e.g.“Those prying neighbours have robbed me of my sense of privacy.”
- Freedom from damaging publicity, public scrutiny, surveillance, and disclosure of personal information, usually by a government or a private organization.e.g.“Trixie Channing: Good God. Is there no privacy?
DCI Tom Barnaby: No, not in a murder case.” — 1998 May 6, Douglas Watkinson & al., "Death in Disguise", Midsomer Murders
- A place of seclusion.
- A relationship between parties seen as being a result of their mutual interest or participation in a given transaction, contract etc.
- Secrecy.
- A private matter.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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