secretly

American

[see-krit-lee] / ˈsi krɪt li /

adverb

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 Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of secretly

secret ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Later, Styles also thanked his mother, Anne, who secretly signed him up for The X Factor when he was just 16 years old.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

When I was 17, I started an internship at the now-revered magazine Sassy, where I hoped, also secretly, that I might glean some wardrobe intel from the staff of cool twentysomething women.

From Salon • Jun. 12, 2026

Soon after, Fatima secretly joins a dating app, hoping to understand her queerness.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

Still, he secretly carried his debt around like an invisible weight.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

“Maybe I’ll ask Sara to go with me,” I say, secretly hoping Maddy will be jealous.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023