keep it confidential

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "keep it confidential" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use this phrase when you want to emphasize that something should be kept secret or private. For example, "Please keep this information confidential; it's not meant to be shared with anyone."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

50 human-written examples

While I was sincere about sharing, obviously I was not really expecting you to keep it confidential, but I was going through the motions of confidentiality for the record.

Huffington Post

It was the only meteorite crater ever discovered in Egypt — its mouth 15o feet wide — and the team vowed to keep it confidential as long as possible.

The New York Times - Science

And the Strasbourg court has promised it would keep it confidential.

The Guardian - Opinion

A decision was made to keep it confidential and turn it over to the F.B.I.

The New York Times

Scientists often collect personal data from subjects but pledge to keep it confidential.

The Washington Post

Freedman confirmed that a settlement had been reached, and said Love's lawyers had hoped to keep it confidential.

Independent

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

10 human-written examples

That's why we kept it confidential so successfully.

The New York Times

But Trudeau was free to ignore the data from "Alpha House" — Amazon kept it confidential even from him.

The New Yorker

"We've always gotten information about customers' usage and always kept it confidential," he said, adding, "We're going to honor their privacy".

The New York Times

"While I kept it confidential until recently, I now want to share it because I believe that it could be very helpful in reducing big economic blunders, if it was more broadly understood," he wrote in an e-mail.

The New York Times

― under pressure from the media and her fellow Democrats ― acknowledged receipt of a letter and said she had kept it confidential at the request of the author.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When asking someone to "keep it confidential", clearly state the scope of what needs to be kept secret and for how long. This avoids misunderstandings and ensures compliance.

Common error

Don't assume someone understands the sensitivity of information just because you implicitly trust them. Always explicitly request they "keep it confidential" to avoid unintentional disclosures.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "keep it confidential" functions as an imperative request, urging the listener to maintain the privacy of certain information. As indicated by Ludwig, this is a common and correct usage.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

45%

Science

25%

Formal & Business

15%

Less common in

Wiki

10%

Academia

3%

Reference

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "keep it confidential" is a very common and grammatically sound phrase used to request that information remains private. As Ludwig AI confirms, it is widely accepted and correctly used across diverse contexts, including news, science, and business. To ensure clarity, always specify what information should be "kept confidential" and for how long. While phrases like "maintain confidentiality" offer more formal alternatives, "keep it confidential" remains a versatile and readily understood expression for emphasizing the importance of discretion.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

maintain confidentiality

Focuses on the act of maintaining an existing state of confidentiality.

preserve secrecy

Emphasizes the act of keeping something secret from being known.

hold in confidence

Implies a trust-based agreement to keep information private.

treat as private

Highlights the action of handling information with privacy in mind.

do not disclose

Directly prohibits the sharing of information.

keep under wraps

An idiomatic expression for keeping something secret.

sweep under the rug

Informal phrase implying to hide information with the intention to keep it secret.

stonewall the disclosure

Aggressive and more specific, to intentionally block something from being disclosed.

observe discretion

Focuses on careful and responsible handling of sensitive information.

bury the secret

A bit more dramatic, suggesting to hide a secret very well.

FAQs

How can I use "keep it confidential" in a sentence?

You can use "keep it confidential" to request secrecy about something. For example, "Please "keep it confidential"; I don't want anyone else to know yet."

What is a more formal way to say "keep it confidential"?

A more formal alternative to "keep it confidential" is "maintain confidentiality", which is often used in professional or legal contexts.

What does it mean to "hold in confidence"?

"Hold in confidence" is similar to "keep it confidential" and means to keep something private and not share it with others, implying a level of trust.

When should I use "keep it secret" versus "keep it confidential"?

While both imply not sharing information, "keep it secret" generally refers to preventing something from being known at all, whereas ""keep it confidential"" suggests it's known by some but shouldn't be spread further.