secretly

[ see-krit-lee ]

adverb

1. in a way that is kept from the knowledge of others or is designed to escape their notice:

   He later discovered that the couple had secretly married in a discreet ceremony six months ago.

   Many of the wood and stone looks you see in homes every day are secretly vinyl flooring.

Other Words From

• non·se·cret·ly adverb
• qua·si-se·cret·ly adverb
• sem·i·se·cret·ly adverb
• ul·tra·se·cret·ly adverb
• un·se·cret·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of secretly¹

secret ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

I secretly loved how the flower craned skyward, never quick to diminish its presence, what I considered its sharp elegance.

From Los Angeles Times

Outspent in the general election and subjected to an onslaught of negative ads and mailers and headlines in the weeks leading up to election day, she nevertheless trounced De León, a Latino political giant now reduced to a cautionary tale after his fall from grace for his role in a secretly recorded conversation that upended L.A. politics.

From Los Angeles Times

For a year and a half, Kevin de León — “that old serpent,” as Revelations 12:9 would have called him — had stymied opponents who demanded his resignation for his role in a secretly recorded, racist conversation.

From Los Angeles Times

The musicians secretly married in December 2023, according to a Missouri database.

From Los Angeles Times

Richard Nixon unilaterally and secretly launched the invasion of Cambodia in 1970, and Ronald Reagan created a secret Central American foreign policy, while arranging the unauthorized transfer of funds and weaponry to the Nicaraguan rebels, the Contras, from the sale of U.S. arms to Iran, despite the fact that such funding was prohibited by an act of Congress, the Boland Amendment.

From Salon

Related Words

• clandestinely
• covertly
• furtively
• personally
• privately
• quietly
• stealthily
• surreptitiously