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Synonyms

hush-hush

American  
[huhsh-huhsh] / ˈhʌʃˌhʌʃ /

adjective

  1. highly secret or confidential.

    a hush-hush political investigation.
hush-hush British  

adjective

  1. informal (esp of official work, documents, etc) secret; confidential

"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

Etymology

Origin of hush-hush

First recorded in 1915–20; reduplication based on hush

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We witnessed a rarity in the House this week: A public “trial” before the usually hush-hush House Ethics Committee.

From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026

Launched earlier this year, the hush-hush undertaking evaluated thousands of the company’s coffee shops across North America on profitability, and the experience of customers and baristas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 4, 2025

“It was the kind of hush-hush tones in people, I knew something wasn’t right.”

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

Management did a hush-hush trial run over the weekend before deciding to officially open Monday morning.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 2024

When I got my first period over the summer, Mama was so hush-hush about the whole thing, as if I should keep it super secret.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.