secret

[ see-krit ]

adjective

1. done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others:

   secret negotiations.

   Synonyms: covert, hidden, clandestine

   Antonyms: manifest, open

2. kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged:

   a secret password.

   Synonyms: confidential, private

3. faithful or cautious in keeping confidential matters confidential; close-mouthed; discreet.

   Synonyms: reticent, secretive, close

4. designed or working to escape notice, knowledge, or observation: the secret police.

   a secret drawer;

   the secret police.

5. secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn:

   a secret hiding place.

6. beyond ordinary human understanding; esoteric.

   Synonyms: mysterious, cryptic, occult

7. (of information, a document, etc.)
   1. bearing the classification secret.
   2. limited to persons authorized to use information documents, etc., so classified.

noun

1. something that is or is kept secret, hidden, or concealed.
2. a mystery:

   the secrets of nature.

3. a reason or explanation not immediately or generally apparent.
4. a method, formula, plan, etc., known only to the initiated or the few: a trade secret.

   the secret of happiness;

   a trade secret.

5. a classification assigned to information, a document, etc., considered less vital to security than top-secret but more vital than confidential, and limiting its use to persons who have been cleared, as by various government agencies, as trustworthy to handle such material. Compare classification ( def 5 ).
6. (initial capital letter) Liturgy. a variable prayer in the Roman and other Latin liturgies, said inaudibly by the celebrant after the offertory and immediately before the preface.

secret

/ ˈsiːkrɪt /

adjective

1. kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of others cryptic
2. known only to initiates

   a secret password

3. hidden from general view or use

   a secret garden

4. able or tending to keep things private or to oneself
5. operating without the knowledge of outsiders

   a secret society

6. outside the normal range of knowledge

noun

1. something kept or to be kept hidden
2. something unrevealed; mystery
3. an underlying explanation, reason, etc, that is not apparent

   the secret of success

4. a method, plan, etc, known only to initiates
5. liturgy a variable prayer, part of the Mass, said by the celebrant after the offertory and before the preface
6. in the secret
   among the people who know a secret

Derived Forms

• ˈsecretly, adverb

Other Words From

• se·cret·ly adverb
• se·cret·ness noun
• non·se·cret adjective noun
• qua·si-se·cret adjective
• sem·i·se·cret adjective
• su·per·se·cret noun
• ul·tra·se·cret adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of secret¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English secrette, from Old French secret, from Latin sēcrētus “hidden,” originally past participle of sēcernere “to secern ”

Word History and Origins

Origin of secret¹

C14: via Old French from Latin sēcrētus concealed, from sēcernere to sift; see secern

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in secret, unknown to others; in private; secretly:

   A resistance movement was already being organized in secret.

More idioms and phrases containing secret

see in secret ; open secret .

Example Sentences

It’s worth noting that this was a secret ballot, so it was far from a public repudiation of Trumpworld.

From BBC

It’s no secret that Trump views the world differently to Biden, and could drastically shift US foreign policy over the next few years.

From BBC

Just before the latest conference started, a secret recording showed the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, Elnur Soltanov, discussing "investment opportunities" in the state oil and gas company with a man posing as a potential investor.

From BBC

It’s no secret that Trump loves fast food.

From Salon

So they’re assigned a secret organization dubbed The Unknowns, under whose banner they rob banks and run explosives through border checkpoints, eventually pulling off a larger-scale bombing that earns them top status in the organization’s “brothers-in-arms” culture.

From Salon

Related Words

• code
• confidential information
• key
• mystery