secretive

¹

[ see-kri-tiv, si-kree- ]

adjective

1. having or showing a disposition to secrecy; reticent:

   He seems secretive about his new job.

   Synonyms: close, secret

secretive

²

[ si-kree-tiv ]

adjective

1. secretory.

secretive

/ ˈsiːkrɪtɪv; sɪˈkriːtɪv /

adjective

1. inclined to secrecy; reticent
2. another word for secretory

Derived Forms

• ˈsecretiveness, noun
• ˈsecretively, adverb

Other Words From

• secre·tive·ly adverb
• secre·tive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of secretive¹

1425–75; late Middle English; back formation from secretiveness (itself modeled on French secrétivité ). See secret, -ive

Origin of secretive²

secret(ion) + -ive

Example Sentences

He told her he was working over Christmas in a secretive military role, training foreign soldiers, but wanted to stay in touch with her during the festive season.

From BBC

One week after the attacks of 9/11, Congress passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which undermined its own power in Article I of the Constitution to declare war and weakened its powers of restraint on presidential actions carefully articulated in the 1973 War Powers Resolution, passed to guard against the very kind of secretive engagement in war that Nixon had unilaterally authorized in the Vietnam era.

From Salon

Around 60 Sri Lankan Tamils have spent more than three years in a makeshift camp on the island, which hosts a secretive UK-US military base, after becoming the first people ever to file asylum claims there.

From BBC

Members of the secretive, tattooed deputy groups have been linked to a number of controversies, including an off-duty brawl outside the Kennedy Hall event space in East L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

But the Times reports that there's a different, much more secretive group that's been putting together a very similar project, called "The America First Agenda" produced by the America First Policy Institute, a group formed four years ago in the wake of the 2020 election.

From Salon

Related Words

• covert
• enigmatic
• reticent
• taciturn