secret admirer
Americannoun
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secret admirers
plural
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a person who is romantically attracted to someone else but shows it only in a way that does not reveal their own identity, as by sending anonymous gifts or messages.
I found an unsigned valentine on my desk from a secret admirer.
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a person who esteems or has a high opinion of someone or something but hides this fact from others.
Only after his death, when his diaries were discovered, did we learn that he was a secret admirer of opera.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of secret admirer
First recorded in 1600–10
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.
Treat broccoli like a beautiful bouquet of flowers sent from a secret admirer.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2022
"It was like a secret admirer type thing," Petillo told Fox News.
From Fox News ● Dec. 22, 2021
“Days of Our Lives’” Alison Sweeney tries to track down a secret admirer in the new TV movie “Open by Christmas.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2021
In 1973, Sally Quinn, an irreverent Style reporter, let him know that she was his secret admirer.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2014
Even if I ended up with Sahil, I’d still tell him about my secret admirer and my struggle.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
