secret society

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noun

an organization, as a fraternal society, the members of which take secret initiation oaths, share secret passwords and rites, and are bound to assist each other.

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Origin of secret society

First recorded in 1820–30

Words nearby secret society

secret partner, secret police, secret Santa, secret sauce, secret service, secret society, secs., sect, sectarian, sectarianism, sectarianize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use secret society in a sentence

Jessica, one of the movie’s most compelling and enigmatic characters, is a member of an all-woman secret society with mystical powers.
Denis Villeneuve's Take on Dune Is an Admirably Understated Sci-Fi Spectacle|Stephanie Zacharek|September 3, 2021|Time
As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
In secret, before the referendum, the council went ahead and fluoridated the water anyway.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
“The institution of marraige [sic] is under attack in our society and it needs to be strengthened,” Bush wrote.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Those are troubling numbers, for unfettered speech is not incidental to a flourishing society.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Compared with neighbors Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos, Cambodia appears to have a blossoming civil society.
Cambodia’s Smoke-and-Mirrors Democracy|David Shaftel|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Those in whom the impulse is strong and dominant are perhaps those who in later years make the good society actors.
Children's Ways|James Sully
The remarkable thing was that all the hurrying people she met seemed also each of them to be on a secret and mystic errand.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
I haven't much time for seeing any one, except my patients, and the people I meet in society.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
William has thus been happily able to report to the society the approaching conversion of M'Bongo and his imminent civilization.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
To Berthier, if to any one, Bonaparte entrusted his secret designs, for he knew that he could do so in safety.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for secret society

secret society

noun

a society or organization that conceals its rites, activities, etc, from those who are not members

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