keep one's counsel en · VERB
Meanings
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To keep one's own business private; to be careful, circumspect, or discreet in what one says concerning one's own deeds, situation, or thoughts.
As he held his mother to him, he longed to tell her all, but he kept his counsel.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Contains both Love and War”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 56:[Ruhollah] Khomeini's approach to decision making is to keep his counsel at first, allowing the advocates of different options to debate issues openly.
1982 July 26, “Personal Power, Personal Hate”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Apr 2008:
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To keep a secret for someone else; to be careful, circumspect, or discreet in what one says concerning someone else's deeds, situation, or thoughts.
Standish will keep our counsel, and the news will be old before it's known.
1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XLIX, in Middlemarch […], volume III, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book V, page 105:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| keeps one's counsel | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| keeping one's counsel | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| kept one's counsel | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| kept one's counsel | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Synonyms
keep one's own counsel · hold one's peace · keep one's mouth shut · keep one's mouth shut · keep counsel · keep one's cards close to one's chest