If you are privy to something secret, you have been allowed to know about it.
[formal]
Only three people, including a police officer, will be privy to the facts. [+ to]
Synonyms: informed of, aware of, in on, wise to [slang] More Synonyms of privy
2. countable noun
A privy is a toilet, especially one that is in a small building outside a house.
[old-fashioned]
Synonyms: lavatory, closet, bog [slang], latrine More Synonyms of privy
More Synonyms of privy
privy in British English
(ˈprɪvɪ)
adjectiveWord forms: privier or priviest
1. (postpositive; foll byto)
participating in the knowledge of something secret
2. archaic
secret, hidden, etc
3. archaic
of or relating to one person only
nounWord forms: pluralprivies
4.
a lavatory, esp an outside one
5. law
a person in privity with another
privity (sense 1)
Word origin
C13: from Old French privé something private, from Latin prīvātusprivate
privy in American English
(ˈprɪvi)
adjective
1. Obsolete
private; not public
see also privy council
2. Archaic
hidden, secret, furtive, etc.
nounWord forms: pluralˈprivies
3.
a toilet; esp., an outhouse
4. Law
a person who is in privity with another
Idioms:
privy to
Derived forms
privily (ˈprivily)
adverb
Word origin
ME < OFr prive < L privatus, private
Examples of 'privy' in a sentence
privy
Does that make him a privy counsellor?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The privy council agreed with his judgment.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
About 40,000 people were privy to the technical rehearsal and yet most of them kept mum.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He is the second privy counsellor to be ejected in 200 years.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
After all, his first act had been to be sealed in a privy.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
From the coal fire in the parlour to the outside privy, it was like stepping into a different universe.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is her courtiers who seem not to grasp that the privy purse is filled by the public's increasingly tatty wallet.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
A report by a group of privy counsellors predicts that most calls will be made via the internet within five years.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
No one is privy to her despair, her chaos, and her shame.
Bloom, Carol & Gitter, Andrea (contributor) & Gutwill, Susan (contributor) & Kogel,Laura (contributor) & Zaphiropoulos, Lela (contributor) Eating Problems: A Feminist Psychoanalytic Treatment Model (1994)
She was then leader of the Commons, lord privy seal and minister for women and equality.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
A boiler house, added in wartime and used as an outside privy, took the likely place of the original front door.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
privy
British English: privy ADJECTIVE
If you are privy to something secret, you have been allowed to know about it.
Only three people, including a policeman, will be privy to the facts.
American English: privy
Brazilian Portuguese: inteirado
Chinese: 跟...有利害关系
European Spanish: conocimiento de
French: au courant
German: eingeweiht in
Italian: a conoscenza
Japanese: 内情に通じた
Korean: 비밀을 공유하는 것이 허락된
European Portuguese: inteirado
Latin American Spanish: conocimiento de
All related terms of 'privy'
privy to
privately informed about
privy purse
(in Britain) an allowance voted by Parliament for the private expenses of the monarch : part of the civil list
privy seal
(in Britain ) a seal affixed to certain documents issued by royal authority : of less rank and importance than the great seal
privy chamber
a private apartment inside a royal residence
privy council
In Britain, the Privy Council is a group of people who are appointed to advise the king or queen on political affairs .
Privy Councillor
the private council of the British sovereign , consisting of all current and former ministers of the Crown and other distinguished subjects, all of whom are appointed for life
Lord Privy Seal
(in Britain) the senior cabinet minister without official duties
Keeper of the Privy Purse
an official of the royal household responsible for dealing with the monarch's private expenses
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
the highest appellate court for Britain's dependencies and for some dominions of the Commonwealth
Chinese translation of 'privy'
privy
(ˈprɪvɪ) (frm)
adj
to be privy to sth[information, facts]私下知悉某事 (sīxià zhīxī mǒushì)
(noun)
Definition
a toilet, esp. an outside one
(obsolete)
an outside privy
Synonyms
lavatory
a public lavatory
closet
bog (slang)
I'm reading it on the bog.
latrine
outside toilet
earth closet
pissoir (French)
bogger (Australian, slang)
brasco (Australian, slang)
1 (adjective)
Definition
sharing in the knowledge of something secret
Only three people were privy to the facts.
Synonyms
informed of
aware of
They are well aware of the dangers.
in on
I wasn't in on that particular discussion.
wise to (slang)
Consumers are becoming wise to the tricks of the marketing trade.
hip to (slang)
switched-on to (informal)
in the loop
apprised of
cognizant of
in the know about (informal)
sussed of (British, slang)
2 (adjective)
Definition
secret
(archaic)
Synonyms
secret
I was heading on a secret mission that made my flesh crawl.
private
He held a private meeting with the country's political party leaders.
personal
That's my personal property!
hidden
Uncover hidden meanings and discover special messages.
confidential
She accused them of leaking confidential information.
off the record
Those remarks were supposed to be off the record.
hush-hush (informal)
Though these meetings were hush-hush there were sometimes leaks.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of aware of
Definition
knowing about
They are well aware of the dangers.
Synonyms
knowing about,
familiar with,
conscious of,
wise to (slang),
alert to,
mindful of,
acquainted with,
alive to,
awake to,
privy to,
hip to (slang),
appreciative of,
attentive to,
conversant with,
apprised of,
cognizant of,
sensible of
in the sense of bog
Definition
a toilet
I'm reading it on the bog.
Synonyms
lavatory,
toilet,
loo (British, informal),
can (US, Canadian, slang),
john (slang, US, Canadian),
bogger (Australian, slang),
brasco (Australian, slang),
throne (informal),
privy,
latrine,
crapper (taboo, slang),
khazi (slang),
W.C.
in the sense of confidential
Definition
spoken or given in confidence
She accused them of leaking confidential information.
Synonyms
secret,
private,
intimate,
classified,
privy (archaic),
off the record,
hush-hush (informal),
closed or closed source,
protected
Nearby words of
privy
privation
privilege
privileged
privy
prize
prized
prizefighter
Synonyms of 'privy'
privy
Explore 'privy' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of hidden
Definition
not easily noticed or obscure
Uncover hidden meanings and discover special messages.
Synonyms
secret,
veiled,
dark,
mysterious,
obscure,
mystical,
mystic,
shrouded,
occult,
latent,
cryptic,
ulterior,
abstruse,
recondite,
hermetic or hermetical
in the sense of hush-hush
Definition
(esp. of official work) secret and confidential
Though these meetings were hush-hush there were sometimes leaks.
Synonyms
secret,
confidential,
classified,
top-secret,
restricted,
under wraps
in the sense of in on
Definition
acquainted with or sharing in
I wasn't in on that particular discussion.
Synonyms
aware of,
familiar with,
conscious of,
wise to (slang),
mindful of,
acquainted with,
alive to,
hip to (slang),
appreciative of,
attentive to,
conversant with,
apprised of,
cognizant of,
sensible of
in the sense of off the record
Definition
not for publication
Those remarks were supposed to be off the record.
Synonyms
confidential,
private,
secret,
classified,
unofficial,
in confidence,
not for publication,
not for circulation
in the sense of personal
Definition
belonging to, or for the sole use of, a particular individual
That's my personal property!
Synonyms
own,
special,
private,
individual,
particular,
peculiar,
privy (archaic)
in the sense of private
Definition
confidential or secret
He held a private meeting with the country's political party leaders.
Synonyms
secret,
confidential,
covert,
inside,
closet,
unofficial,
privy (archaic),
clandestine,
off the record,
hush-hush (informal),
in camera
in the sense of wise to
Definition
aware of or informed about
Consumers are becoming wise to the tricks of the marketing trade.