hush-hush

American  

[huhsh-huhsh] / ˈhʌʃˌhʌʃ /

adjective

1. highly secret or confidential.

   a hush-hush political investigation.

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hush-hush British  

adjective

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

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Etymology

Origin of hush-hush

First recorded in 1915–20; reduplication based on hush

Example Sentences

When he returned, he was a pipe-smoking, 165-pound Spencer Tracy look-alike, and just the sort Burns wanted for his hush-hush unit.

From Los Angeles Times

I wish I could just turn to her and say, “Look, Lizzie, I’m a cryptanalyst. A code breaker. It’s all very hush-hush.”

From Literature

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

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

From BBC

The hush-hush arrival of the couple’s newest family member shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering they have mostly kept details of their private life away from the public eye.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• confidential