privacy
/ˈpɹɪv.ə.si/noun
privacy is spelled P-R-I-V-A-C-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,875th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, privacy means “The state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of privacy is privacies.
How many letters and syllables are in privacy?
| Letters | 7: P-R-I-V-A-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 23 times per million words; the 3,875th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is privacy?
Privacy appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,875th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce privacy?
- UK /ˈpɹɪv.ə.si/
- UK /ˈpɹaɪ.və.si/
- British /ˈpɹɪvəsɪj/
Privacy has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-privacy2.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-privacy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of privacy
- privacies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does privacy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others.
I need my privacy, so please stay out of my room.
- 2
Freedom from unwanted or undue disturbance of one's private life.
Those prying neighbours have robbed me of my sense of privacy.
- 3
Freedom from damaging publicity, public scrutiny, surveillance, and disclosure of personal information, usually by a government or a private organization.
Privacy is assumed by many to be among common-law rights.
- 4
obsoleteA place of seclusion.
- 5
obsoleteA relationship between parties seen as being a result of their mutual interest or participation in a given transaction, contract etc.
- 6
obsoleteSecrecy.
- 7
obsoleteA private matter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Privacy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | intimité, vie privée, confidentialité , tranquillité |
| German | Privatsphäre, Ungestörtheit, Zurückgezogenheit, Abgeschiedenheit , Ruhe |
| Portuguese | intimidade, privacidade |
| Spanish | intimidad, privacidad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does privacy come from?
From priv(ate) + -acy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).