in public

in public — idiom

1. in a situation where other people are present and can see or hear what is happen

1.慣用語B1
釋義

in a situation where other people are present and can see or hear what is happening — the opposite of in private

例句

Tunde felt too nervous to sing in public, even though he had a good voice.

[verb phrase] felt too nervous to + [verb] in public

The mayor apologized in public for the mistake her office had made.

apologize in public — used for formal/accountability contexts

同義詞
  • openly

    broader — can describe opinions or secrets, not just visibility

  • publicly

    closest synonym; more formal and often used in legal or official contexts

反義詞
  • in private

    direct opposite; means away from other people's sight or hearing

文法句型

[verb] + in public

用法筆記

This is an adverbial phrase, not a noun phrase. It always follows a verb and should not be confused with 'in the public' (which refers to the general population). The opposite is 'in private'.

常見錯誤

❌She does not like to cry in the public.
✅She does not like to cry in public.
💡'in public' is a fixed adverbial phrase with no article.