secret admirer

American  

[see-krit ad-mahyuhr-er] / ˈsi krɪt ædˈmaɪər ər /

noun

• secret admirers
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• secret admirers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of secret admirer

First recorded in 1600–10

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secret admirer

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

Evidently, everyone wants to be the inspiration for a romantic online gesture, whether your secret admirer spotted you from across the quad or became enchanted with you at the grocery store.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2021

“I’m a secret admirer of Branson,” he said, citing the character who supports Ireland’s independence from Britain.

From New York Times ● Sep. 18, 2019

I invented a secret admirer for Cap named Lorelei Lumley, a seventh grade student-government groupie, who slipped perfumed love notes through the vents of his locker.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

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