covert

[adjective koh-vert, kuhv-ert; noun kuhv-ert, koh-vert]

See more synonyms for covert on Thesaurus.com

adjective

concealed; secret; disguised.
covered; sheltered.
Law. (of a wife) under the protection of one's husband.

noun

a covering; cover.
a shelter or hiding place.
concealment or disguise.
Hunting. a thicket giving shelter to wild animals or game.
Also called tectrix. Ornithology. one of the small feathers that cover the bases of the large feathers of the wings and tail.
covert cloth.

Origin of covert

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin coopertus, past participle of cooperīre to cover completely; see cover

Related formsco·vert·ly, adverbco·vert·ness, noun

Can be confusedcovert overt

Synonyms for covert

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1. clandestine, surreptitious, furtive.

Pronunciation note

Covert, related to cover, has historically been pronounced

[kuhv-ert] /ˈkʌv ərt/, with

[uh] /ʌ/, the same stressed vowel found in cover. This

[uh] /ʌ/ is the traditional and unchallenged vowel in many other English words spelled with stressed o followed by v, voiced th, or a nasal in the same syllable, words of high frequency like love and above, mother and other, some and honey. The adjective covert, however, by analogy with overt

[oh-vurt, oh-vert] /oʊˈvɜrt, ˈoʊ vərt/, its semantic opposite, has developed the pronunciation

[koh-vert] /ˈkoʊ vərt/, perhaps because of the frequent coupling of the two terms in the news media. This is now the more common pronunciation for the adjective in American English, though not in British English, which retains the historical pronunciation. For the noun senses, less likely to appear in the news or to be contrasted with overt and its

[oh] /oʊ/ sound, the historical

[kuhv-ert] /ˈkʌv ərt/ remains the more frequent pronunciation.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for covert

hidden, undercover, surreptitious, secret, privy, private, concealed, disguised, furtive, hush-hush, incognito, masked, stealthy, ulterior, underhand, unsuspected, veiled, buried, obscured, QT

Examples from the Web for covert

Contemporary Examples of covert

The remote controlled flying craft has gone from covert military ops to a communal backyard hobby.
Why Every Home Needs a Drone This Holiday
Charlie Gilbert
December 8, 2014
PARIS, France—What could be more cynical than a covert operation?
The CIA’s Wrong: Arming Rebels Works
Christopher Dickey
October 19, 2014
Syrian rebels have overtaken a joint Russian-Syrian secret facility that they claim was a covert intelligence collection base.
Syrian Rebels Seize Russian Spy Station Near Israeli Border
Josh Rogin, Eli Lake
October 7, 2014
Most importantly, foreign policy should not be reduced to a synonym for military action and covert operations.
After Bipartisan Bush-Obama Blundering, Let’s Try a Libertarian Foreign Policy
Nick Gillespie
July 16, 2014
Tyler agreed that the covert nature of the LGBT scene at BYU has had its upshots.
Mormon U. Forces Gays to Be Celibate
Emily Shire
May 13, 2014

Historical Examples of covert

There was covert insinuation of suspicion, albeit a kindly one, in the man's voice.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
He shot her a covert glance—causelessly, for her naiveté was flawless.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
Mr. Bentham discreetly ignored the covert threat in Wrayson's words.
The Avenger
E. Phillips Oppenheim
After skirting the covert, she turned homewards by a pathway through the trees.
Creatures of the Night
Alfred W. Rees
Bertignac was suspected of a covert satire on the authorities.
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for covert

covert

adjective

concealed or secretcovert jealousy
law Compare feme covert, discovert

noun

a shelter or disguise
a thicket or woodland providing shelter for game
short for covert cloth
ornithol any of the small feathers on the wings and tail of a bird that surround the bases of the larger feathers
a flock of coots

Derived Formscovertly, adverbcovertness, noun

Word Origin for covert

C14: from Old French: covered, from covrir to cover

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for covert

adj.

c.1300, from Old French covert "hidden, obscure, underhanded," literally "covered," past participle of covrir "to cover" (see cover). Related: Covertly.