secretly

[see-krit-lee]

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

• nonsecretly adverb
• quasi-secretly adverb
• semisecretly adverb
• ultrasecretly adverb
• unsecretly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of secretly¹

secret ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Mr. Witt acknowledges that the fund didn’t “secretly and single-handedly” defeat racial and economic inequality.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Armed with all the testimony we had collected, we made the case to secretly film one of the company's meetings.

Read more on BBC

Western powers have long accused Iran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons -- something it has repeatedly denied, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production.

Read more on Barron's

His respite, however, was uncannily timed to an onslaught of criticism after CNN revealed that the show’s longtime top writer had been secretly posting vile and hateful comments on the internet for years.

Read more on Salon

Like a hostess who secretly loathes her guests, Shelley encourages her characters to flatter themselves and expose their braggadocio.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clandestinely www.thesaurus.com
• covertly 
• furtively 
• personally 
• privately www.thesaurus.com
• quietly 
• stealthily 
• surreptitiously