Intimate
Intimate adjective - Not known or meant to be known by the general populace.
Usage example: they broke up after she shared intimate information with all 500 of her closest friends
Private is a synonym for intimate in individual topic. In some cases you can use "Private" instead the word "Intimate" as an adjective or a noun, when it comes to topics like sexual, restricted, inner, personal. popular alternative
Private
Private adjective - Not known or meant to be known by the general populace.
Usage example: that he is planning to retire is private information until he makes a public announcement
Intimate is a synonym for private in individual topic. You can use "Intimate" instead the word "Private" as an adjective or a noun, if it concerns topics such as restricted, inner, personal. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Both words in one sentence
- Similarly, in his Marune: Alastor 933 the act of eating is considered taboo among the upper class: people will eat in private, and couples having an intimate dinner will barely conceal all of that intensely private stuffing of food into a facial orifice behind small table-mounted screens.
Source: Our Nudity Is Different - Even after they became intimate, she only rarely called him by his first name, and only ever in private.
Source: Last Name Basis / Live-Action TV - Laurie and Jon's relationship is public, with no privacy, physical intimacy or affection, while HJ and Nelly's was secret and private, and the two men are obviously very intimate with each other.
Source: He's Just Hiding
Cite this Source
Private and Intimate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/intimate/private
Intimate & Private. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/intimate/private>.
Private or Intimate. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/intimate/private.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "intimate" and "private" have occurred on timeline