secret

[ see-krit ]

adjective

1. done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others:

   secret negotiations.

   Synonyms: covert, hidden, clandestine

   Antonyms: manifest, open

2. kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged:

   a secret password.

   Synonyms: confidential, private

3. faithful or cautious in keeping confidential matters confidential; close-mouthed; discreet.

   Synonyms: reticent, secretive, close

4. designed or working to escape notice, knowledge, or observation: the secret police.

   a secret drawer;

   the secret police.

5. secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn:

   a secret hiding place.

6. beyond ordinary human understanding; esoteric.

   Synonyms: mysterious, cryptic, occult

7. (of information, a document, etc.)
   1. bearing the classification secret.
   2. limited to persons authorized to use information documents, etc., so classified.

noun

1. something that is or is kept secret, hidden, or concealed.
2. a mystery:

   the secrets of nature.

3. a reason or explanation not immediately or generally apparent.
4. a method, formula, plan, etc., known only to the initiated or the few: a trade secret.

   the secret of happiness;

   a trade secret.

5. a classification assigned to information, a document, etc., considered less vital to security than top-secret but more vital than confidential, and limiting its use to persons who have been cleared, as by various government agencies, as trustworthy to handle such material. Compare classification ( def 5 ).
6. (initial capital letter) Liturgy. a variable prayer in the Roman and other Latin liturgies, said inaudibly by the celebrant after the offertory and immediately before the preface.

secret

/ ˈsiːkrɪt /

adjective

1. kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of others cryptic
2. known only to initiates

   a secret password

3. hidden from general view or use

   a secret garden

4. able or tending to keep things private or to oneself
5. operating without the knowledge of outsiders

   a secret society

6. outside the normal range of knowledge

noun

1. something kept or to be kept hidden
2. something unrevealed; mystery
3. an underlying explanation, reason, etc, that is not apparent

   the secret of success

4. a method, plan, etc, known only to initiates
5. liturgy a variable prayer, part of the Mass, said by the celebrant after the offertory and before the preface
6. in the secret
   in the secret among the people who know a secret

Derived Forms

• ˈsecretly, adverb

Other Words From

• se·cret·ly adverb
• se·cret·ness noun
• non·se·cret adjective noun
• qua·si-se·cret adjective
• sem·i·se·cret adjective
• su·per·se·cret noun
• ul·tra·se·cret adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of secret¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English secrette, from Old French secret, from Latin sēcrētus “hidden,” originally past participle of sēcernere “to secern ”

Word History and Origins

Origin of secret¹

C14: via Old French from Latin sēcrētus concealed, from sēcernere to sift; see secern

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in secret, unknown to others; in private; secretly:

   A resistance movement was already being organized in secret.

More idioms and phrases containing secret

see in secret ; open secret .

Example Sentences

It could require a whole new breakthrough, or the secret ingredient may already be out there, waiting in a stack of old research papers.

From Quanta Magazine

Part of the beauty of the Tabard Inn is that everyone thinks it’s their little secret, their special spot.

From Washington Blade

According to Forbes, Americans are inundated with 4,000 to 10,000 every single day, and it’s no secret that they start to filter them out eventually.

From Search Engine Watch

Many of the alleged secrets were not revealed, but Mak is believed to have passed intelligence related to quieting submarine propulsion to avoid detection.

From MIT Technology Review

It’s no secret that our infrastructure needs a major overhaul.

From Fortune

In secret, before the referendum, the council went ahead and fluoridated the water anyway.

From The Daily Beast

The death toll, which experts believe has been significantly undercut by secret burials, stands at 7,905.

From The Daily Beast

Henri Paul actually worked for the French Secret Service and he had €200,000 in his account when he only earned €30,000 a year.

From The Daily Beast

Never mind the huge buildup of clandestine operatives and secret warriors since 9/11.

From The Daily Beast

Slowly, slowly, dance classes may cease to be such secret and guilty pleasures in Iran.

From The Daily Beast

The remarkable thing was that all the hurrying people she met seemed also each of them to be on a secret and mystic errand.

From Project Gutenberg

To Berthier, if to any one, Bonaparte entrusted his secret designs, for he knew that he could do so in safety.

From Project Gutenberg

He must be The saltest fish that swims the sea.And, oh!He has a secret woe!

From Project Gutenberg

Dr. Adam Weishaupt, professor of canon law at Ingolstadt, founded the secret society of the illuminati.

From Project Gutenberg

The obeying of several hints, of secret impulses, argues great wisdom.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• code
• confidential information
• key
• mystery