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 secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn: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

Republicans at the time made no secret of their accomplishment.

From Salon

He disputed the idea that jurors’ identities were meant to be kept secret, arguing Olmedo’s ruling only hid information contained in “the forms that the jurors fill out relating to their jury service.”

From Los Angeles Times

The Palestinian official told the BBC that the Hamas negotiators had adjusted their presence in the region and were keeping their locations secret to avoid embarrassment for host countries.

From BBC

If someone tells us a secret, we will keep the secret — not necessarily because we’re keeping the secret, but because we forgot it.

From Los Angeles Times

LocalThunk rarely gives interviews and keeps his real identity a secret - so there's a question mark over whether he'd attend on the night.

From BBC

Related Words

• code
• confidential information
• key
• mystery