secretive

¹ American  

[see-kri-tiv, si-kree-] / ˈsi krɪ tɪv, sɪˈkri- /

adjective

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

   He seems secretive about his new job.

   Synonyms:

   close, secret

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secretive ² American  

[si-kree-tiv] / sɪˈkri tɪv /

adjective

1. secretory.

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secretive British  

/ ˈsiːkrɪtɪv, sɪˈkriːtɪv /

adjective

1. inclined to secrecy; reticent

2. another word for secretory

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Usage

What does secretive mean? Secretive is commonly used to describe people or organizations that are prone to secrecy—they avoid revealing information about themselves and try to keep their actions private. The word secretive can also be used to describe such actions. People who are secretive often don’t let other people get to know them very well, often by keeping secrets about their life. They may do this because they have something to hide or because they don’t trust other people. Organizations described as secretive are often those that hide details about their operations. A secretive company may be one that closely guards information about its product development or financial situation. Animals described as secretive are those that tend to stay hidden. Describing things or people as secretive often implies that you are suspicious of them because it seems like they are hiding something. An unrelated and less common meaning of secretive is based not on secret but on the verb secrete. This sense of secretive means involving the process of secretion—the production and release of substances from specialized cells within an organism, such as glands. For example, the pancreas can be described as secretive in this way because it secretes digestive fluid and insulin. Another word for this is secretory. Example: I always ask Sylvie about her weekend plans, but she’s so secretive that she only smiles furtively and walks away.

Other Word Forms

• secretively
  adverb
• secretiveness
  noun

Etymology

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

Explanation

If you don't like sharing information or letting other people know how you feel, you're secretive. Secretive people probably make the best spies. When a person is secretive, they seem mysterious because they don't reveal much about themselves. You can also be secretive about something specific — you might be suspicious of your sister's secretive behavior until you realize she's been planning a surprise party for your birthday. Secretive existed in the same form in Middle English, from the Latin root secretus, "withdrawn, hidden, concealed, or private."

Example Sentences

Secretive military nuclear-weapons labs deep within China’s western interior have received close to $10 billion in investment to support ICF research and development.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

She is the author of “Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup’s Quest to End Privacy as We Know It,” from which this article is adapted.

From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2023

Secretive internet vigilantes have made it their mission to fight climate change denial on Twitter.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2023

And spotting physical similarities and shared personality quirks can be revelatory and fun, said Peter J. Boni, the author of Uprooted: Family Trauma, Unknown Origins, and the Secretive History of Artificial Insemination.

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2023

Secretive, sensitive, she takes a wound Deep to her soul, as if the sense had swooned, And not a thought of vengeance had survived.

From Poems — Volume 1 by Meredith, George

Related Words

• covert
• enigmatic
• reticent
• taciturn