covertly

[koh-vert-lee, koh-vert-]

adverb

1. in a way that is concealed or disguised; secretly.

   The witness alleges that the FBI asked him to covertly record conversations with his boss in a bid to tie him to a criminal hacking conspiracy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of covertly¹

covert ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in 2023, but some conservatives have said they suspect schools are using proxies like applicant essays to covertly boost diversity.

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Lawyers for the claimants successfully argued that new evidence had come to light, and they did not know how information was being covertly acquired at the time.

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Inevitably, it became clear that to get a true picture of the culture inside the station, Rory would have to spend time covertly recording conversations outside it - in pubs where officers regularly socialised with colleagues.

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The following year Ms Wilson, who was a politics student and champion athlete at the university, released audio on X of a conversation with McFarlane she covertly captured after the attacks.

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In their near-perfect exploration of how antiquated tropes have covertly transformed, bleeding into a new generation’s quest for romance, Gordon and Brooks cleverly subvert expectations at every turn.

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Related Words

• clandestinely www.thesaurus.com
• secretly 
• surreptitiously