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Definitions

secretly

[see-krit-lee] / ˈsi krɪt li /
ADVERB
in hidden manner
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 secret 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.

Suspicion also falls on the married owner of the Sahara, who was secretly in love with Zakia, and the dead woman’s boyfriend, who is arrested on evidence of a threatening letter supposedly written by him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

One woman from Adusah's church - who later gave a statement to UK police - said Charmain had secretly obtained a second phone because Adusah had confiscated her main one.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Harrison is not so secretly one of the funnier people I know.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Google last year identified more than 10 million Android devices that came with Ipidea’s residential proxy software secretly pre-installed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Even a strawberry lassi mixture that I’m secretly dying to make.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan