covertly

American  

[koh-vert-lee, koh-vert-] / ˈkoʊ vərt li, koʊˈvərt- /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of covertly

covert ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

covertly

In one case, a 17-year-old girl told British broadcaster Channel 4 News in August how she had been approached by a man who covertly recorded her and their interaction.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Wright has said private data firms are undercounting ships that move covertly through the waterway.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Once in Britain, according to the New York Times, Trump was covertly ferried back to Air Force One as though he had been aboard the whole time.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Browne-Marshall observed how the same FBI that covertly targeted Martin Luther King and other civil rights activists for subterfuge also prosecuted the KKK and investigated the death of civil rights workers.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

All the while, Tisquantum covertly tried to persuade other Wampanoag that he was better able to protect them against the Narragansett than Massasoit.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• clandestinely
• secretly
• surreptitiously