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Synonyms

in secret

Idioms  

  1. Unknown to others, privately. For example, They met in secret, or, as Shakespeare put it in Love's Labour's Lost (5:2): “One word in secret.” [Second half of 1400s]

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.

The Vatican also played a major role in secret negotiations that led the Obama administration to re-establish full diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

"It Was Just an Accident," by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, was filmed in secret and deals with a dilemma that victims of oppression sometimes face: should they take revenge or forgive those who imprisoned them?

From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026

“Their fee structure was designed in secret by board members of the PRO,” said Eric Hoplin, president and chief executive of the group.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Who among us is getting Botox in secret after age 40?

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026

I decide then that I will never mention my mother to him—but all the while I’ll continue my search in secret, and when the moment is right, I’ll yank the truth right out of him.

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender

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.