keep counsel

verb

To keep one's counsel.

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Meanings

verbkeep counsel (third-person singular simple present keeps counsel, present participle keeping counsel, simple past and past participle kept counsel)

present singular third person keeps counsel · participle present keeping counsel · participle past kept counsel · past kept counsel

  1. intransitiveTo keep one's counsel.

    A lady, sir, as you will find, / Keeps counsel, or she speaks her mind, / Means what she says and scorns to fence / And palter with feigned innocence.

    1981, A. D. Hope, “His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell”, in A Book of Answers

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
keep one's counselkeep one's own counsel
Cite this entry
APA

keep counsel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20counsel

MLA

“keep counsel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20counsel. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “keep counsel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20counsel.

Source: keep counsel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.