covertly

[ koh-vert-lee, koh-vert- ]

adverb

1. in a way that is concealed or disguised; secretly:

   The witness alleges that the FBI asked him to covertly record conversations with his boss in a bid to tie him to a criminal hacking conspiracy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of covertly¹

covert ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

In “The Diplomat,” Keri Russell plays a career diplomat covertly being primed to assume the role of vice president — without having to win over an electorate.

From Los Angeles Times

But the US State Department welcomed the UK's latest announcement on sanctions, saying it addressed a threat in which "Kremlin-produced disinformation was covertly placed in local outlets to appear as genuine news articles".

From BBC

Like Israel, Iran has a civilian nuclear programme, though it has been under suspicion for decades of covertly running a parallel programme to manufacture material - enriched uranium - for nuclear bombs, and the missiles to deliver them.

From BBC

Holly met MacPhail at army cadets, where he learned how to covertly follow targets and had expressed an interest in becoming a sniper.

From BBC

So he engaged a "network of proxies" to covertly advance his plot.

From Salon

Related Words

• clandestinely
• secretly
• surreptitiously