hidden agenda

American  

noun

1. an often duplicitously undisclosed plan or motive.

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hidden agenda British  

noun

1. a hidden motive or intention behind an overt action, policy, etc

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Etymology

Origin of hidden agenda

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

“No hidden agenda or other reason,” he said of the timing.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2025

“It is a rejection of the belief that there is some sort of hidden agenda of indoctrination. None of that is happening.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 8, 2023

It appears, then, that copyright violation—in the old-fashioned as well as newfangled meaning of the term—may be a part of Meta’s hidden agenda.

From Slate • Sep. 26, 2023

“I’ve been doing the jobs that have been put in front of me. I’ve built the relationships that I’ve had an opportunity to build, not for any hidden agenda, but because I’m working with them.”

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023

I look back down at the drawing, rotating his questions in my mind like I’m searching for their hidden agenda.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman