Meaning & use
breach of confidence
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phraselegalformal
the act of sharing information that someone trusted you to keep secret.
Grammar: Used as a countable phrase: a breach of confidence, several breaches of confidence.
Patterns
- a breach of confidence
- commit a breach of confidence
- sue someone for breach of confidence
The nurse was dismissed for a breach of confidence after discussing a patient's case.
The company sued the former employee for breach of confidence.
Sharing those documents with a journalist was a serious breach of confidence.
phrasefixed phraselegal
a legal claim that private information was disclosed without permission.
Grammar: Used in law to name a type of legal action, often without 'a': liable for breach of confidence.
Patterns
- liable for breach of confidence
- an action for breach of confidence
The court found the newspaper liable for breach of confidence.
She brought an action for breach of confidence against her former employer.
Lawyers argued that the disclosure amounted to breach of confidence.
Common combinations
- a breach of confidence
- Revealing the client's name was a clear breach of confidence.
- sue for breach of confidence
- They threatened to sue for breach of confidence.
- serious breach of confidence
- The tribunal called it a serious breach of confidence.
- claim for breach of confidence
- He filed a claim for breach of confidence in the High Court.
Synonyms and how they differ
- betrayal of trust
- More emotional and personal; use it for friendships and relationships, not for legal cases.
- disclosure
- Neutral and simply means information was made known; it does not by itself suggest that this was wrong.
Word family
- confidential adjective
- meant to be kept secret.
- confidentiality noun
- the duty or state of keeping information secret.
- breach noun
- a failure to keep a rule, law, or agreement.
Commonly confused: breach of confidence or breach of contract?
breach of confidence vs breach of contract
A breach of contract is breaking the terms of an agreement. A breach of confidence is specifically about revealing secret information.
Practice
The employee was accused of ___ after leaking the client list to a rival company.
Choose one answer.
Leaking secret client information is a breach of confidence. 'Breach of contract' is about breaking an agreement's terms, 'confidence trick' means a fraud, and 'vote of confidence' is an expression of support.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “breach of confidence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.