Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for in secret.
Definitions

in secret

ADJECTIVE
behind-the-scenes
Synonyms
WEAK
backstage behind the curtain in a corner in the dark out of public view sub-rosa
ADVERB
huggermugger
Synonyms
WEAK
behind closed doors behind someone's back by stealth clandestinely confidentially covertly furtively hush-hush in camera in confidence in holes and corners in strict confidence insidiously intimately o obscurely on the Q.T.
ADVERB
secretly
Synonyms
STRONGEST
clandestinely covertly furtively personally privately quietly stealthily surreptitiously
WEAK
behind closed doors behind someone's back by stealth confidentially hush-hush in camera in confidence in holes and corners in strict confidence insidiously intimately obscurely on the Q.T. on the quiet on the sly privily slyly sub-rosa under the table underhandedly unobserved
Antonyms
STRONGEST
publicly
WEAK
openly

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.

The Vatican also played a major role in secret negotiations that led the Obama administration to re-establish full diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Chelsea have been fined £10m and handed a suspended transfer ban after admitting making £47m in secret payments to unregistered agents and third-parties over transfers between 2011 and 2018.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

The government had spent days in secret talks with the players, who were whisked to a safe house after leaving their hotel on the Gold Coast.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

Who among us is getting Botox in secret after age 40?

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026

I decide then that I will never mention my mother to him—but all the while I’ll continue my search in secret, and when the moment is right, I’ll yank the truth right out of him.

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender