Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

secretly

American  
[see-krit-lee] / ˈsi krɪt li /

adverb

  1. in a way that is kept from the knowledge of others or is designed to escape their notice.

    He later discovered that the couple had secretly married in a discreet ceremony six months ago.

    Many of the wood and stone looks you see in homes every day are secretly vinyl flooring.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of secretly

secret ( def. ) + -ly

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.

See Examples For:

In February 1945 Hirohito began meeting secretly with his former prime ministers to poll them on whether to petition for peace.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 31, 2026

Separately, police officers are also allowed to secretly record conversations if they are “acting within the scope of his or her authority,” according to Seager.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 31, 2026

Because they listened to so many songs secretly, she cannot recall titles.

From BBC Jul. 17, 2026

Pegasus can be installed surreptitiously onto a target's smartphone and read messages, geolocate and secretly turn on the device's camera and microphone -- effectively turning the phone into a pocket spy.

From Barron's Jul. 16, 2026

Bobby immediately left Belgrade—taking with him his second, Eugene Torre, and two bodyguards provided by Vasiljevic—and secretly traveled to the small town of Magyarkanizsa, in the northernmost reaches of Serbia, on the border with Hungary.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training