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strict

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in (the strictest) confidence

trusting that something said will not be told to anyone else She told me her plans in confidence, and I really can't talk to anyone about them.

See also: confidence

in the strict sense

also in the strictest sense

according to the most limited and exact meaning of a word or idea a€?Conservativea€? in the strict sense of the word is not a label that fits her. The novel is not tragic in the strictest sense, but it is certainly full of sadness.

Usage notes: usually used to say that someone or something does not have the characteristics of this limited meaning

See also: sense, strict

in confidence

Also, in strict confidence. Privately, on condition that what is said will not be revealed. For example, The doctor told her in confidence that her mother was terminally ill, or He told us in strict confidence that Gail was pregnant. This idiom was first recorded in 1632. Also see take into one's confidence.

See also: confidence