Adjacent Words

Secret definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SE'CRET, a. [L. secretus. This is given as the participle of secerno, but is radically a different word. The radical sense of seg is to separate, as in L. seco, to cut off; and not improbably this word is contracted into the Latin se, a prefix in segrego, separo, etc.]
1. Properly, separate; hence, hid; concealed from the notice or knowledge of all persons except the individual or individuals concerned.
I have a secret errand to thee, O king. Judges 3.
2. Unseen; private; secluded; being in retirement.
There secret in her sapphire cell,
He with the Nais wont to dwell. Fenton.
3. Removed from sight; private; unknown.
Abide in a secret place, and hide thyself. I Sam. 19.
4. Keeping secrets; faithful to secrets entrusted; as secret Romans. [Unusual.]
5. Private; affording privacy.
6. Occult; not seen; not apparent; as the secret operations of physical causes.
7. Known to God only.
Secret things belong to the Lord our God. Deutoronomy 29.
Not proper to be seen; kept or such as ought to be kept from observation.
SE'CRET, n. [L. secretum]
1. Something studiously concealed. A man who cannot keep his own secrets, will hardly keep the secrets of others.
To tell our own secrets is often folly; to communicate those of others is treachery.
Rambler.
A talebearer revealeth secrets. Proverbs 11
2. A thing not discovered and therefore not known.
All secrets of the deep, all nature's works. Milton.
Hast thou heard the secret of God? Job 15.
3. Secrets, plu., The parts which modesty and propriety require to be concealed. In secret, in a private place; in privacy or secrecy; in a state or place not seen; privately.
Bread eaten in secret is pleasant. Proverbs 9.
SE'CRET, v. t. To keep private. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not open or public; kept private or not revealed; "a secret formula"; "secret ingredients"; "secret talks"
2: conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods; "clandestine intelligence operations"; "cloak-and-dagger activities behind enemy lines"; "hole-and-corner intrigue"; "secret missions"; "a secret agent"; "secret sales of arms"; "surreptitious mobilization of troops"; "an undercover investigation"; "underground resistance" [syn: clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, secret, surreptitious, undercover, underground]
3: not openly made known; "a secret marriage"; "a secret bride" [syn: unavowed, secret]
4: communicated covertly; "their secret signal was a wink"; "secret messages"
5: not expressed; "secret (or private) thoughts" [syn: secret, private]
6: designed to elude detection; "a hidden room or place of concealment such as a priest hole"; "a secret passage"; "the secret compartment in the desk" [syn: hidden, secret]
7: hidden from general view or use; "a privy place to rest and think"; "a secluded romantic spot"; "a secret garden" [syn: privy, secluded, secret]
8: (of information) given in confidence or in secret; "this arrangement must be kept confidential"; "their secret communications" [syn: confidential, secret]
9: indulging only covertly; "a secret alcoholic"
10: having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding; "mysterious symbols"; "the mystical style of Blake"; "occult lore"; "the secret learning of the ancients" [syn: mysterious, mystic, mystical, occult, secret, orphic]
11: the next to highest level of official classification for documents n
1: something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on); "the combination to the safe was a secret"; "he tried to keep his drinking a secret"
2: information known only to a special group; "the secret of Cajun cooking" [syn: secret, arcanum]
3: something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained; "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one of nature's secrets" [syn: mystery, enigma, secret, closed book]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French secré, secret, from Latin secretus, from past participle of secernere to separate, distinguish, from se- apart + cernere to sift — more at secede, certain Date: 14th century 1. a. kept from knowledge or view ; hidden b. marked by the habit of discretion ; closemouthed c. working with hidden aims or methods ; undercover <a secret agent> d. not acknowledged ; unavowed <a secret bride> e. conducted in secret <a secret trial> 2. remote from human frequentation or notice ; secluded 3. revealed only to the initiated ; esoteric 4. designed to elude observation or detection <a secret panel> 5. containing information whose unauthorized disclosure could endanger national security — compare confidential, top secret • secretly adverb Synonyms: secret, covert, stealthy, furtive, clandestine, surreptitious, underhanded mean done without attracting observation. secret implies concealment on any grounds for any motive <met at a secret location>. covert stresses the fact of not being open or declared <covert intelligence operations>. stealthy suggests taking pains to avoid being seen or heard especially in some misdoing <the stealthy step of a burglar>. furtive implies a sly or cautious stealthiness <lovers exchanging furtive glances>. clandestine implies secrecy usually for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose and often emphasizes the fear of being discovered <a clandestine meeting of conspirators>. surreptitious applies to action or behavior done secretly often with skillful avoidance of detection and in violation of custom, law, or authority <the surreptitious stockpiling of weapons>. underhanded stresses fraud or deception <an underhanded trick>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. something kept hidden or unexplained ; mystery b. something kept from the knowledge of others or shared only confidentially with a few c. a method, formula, or process used in an art or operation and divulged only to those of one's own company or craft ; trade secret d. plural the practices or knowledge making up the shared discipline or culture of an esoteric society 2. a prayer traditionally said inaudibly by the celebrant just before the preface of the mass 3. something taken to be a specific or key to a desired end <the secret of longevity>

U.S. Military Dictionary

See security classification.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 kept or meant to be kept private, unknown, or hidden from all or all but a few. 2 acting or operating secretly. 3 fond of, prone to, or able to preserve secrecy. 4 (of a place) hidden, completely secluded. --n. 1 a thing kept or meant to be kept secret. 2 a thing known only to a few. 3 a mystery. 4 a valid but not commonly known or recognized method of achieving or maintaining something (what's their secret?; correct breathing is the secret of good health). 5 RC Ch. a prayer concluding the offertory of the mass. Phrases and idioms: in secret secretly. in (or in on) the secret among the number of those who know it. keep a secret not reveal it. secret agent a spy acting for a country. secret ballot a ballot in which votes are cast in secret. secret police a police force operating in secret for political purposes. secret service a government department concerned with espionage. secret society a society whose members are sworn to secrecy about it. Derivatives: secretly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L secretus (adj.) separate, set apart f. secernere secret- (as SE-, cernere sift)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Secret Se"cret, n. [F. secret (cf. Pr. secret, Sp. & Pg. secreto, It. secreto, segreto), from L. secretum. See Secret, a.] 1. Something studiously concealed; a thing kept from general knowledge; what is not revealed, or not to be revealed. To tell our secrets is often folly; to communicate those of others is treachery. --Rambler.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Secret Se"cret, a. [F. secret (cf. Sp.& Pg. secreto, It. secreto, segreto), fr. L. secretus, p. p. of secrernere to put apart, to separate. See Certain, and cf. Secrete, Secern.] 1. Hidden; concealed; as, secret treasure; secret plans; a secret vow. --Shak. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us. --Deut. xxix. 29. 2. Withdraw from general intercourse or notice; in retirement or secrecy; secluded. There, secret in her sapphire cell, He with the Na["i]s wont to dwell. --Fenton. 3. Faithful to a secret; not inclined to divulge or betray confidence; secretive. [R.] Secret Romans, that have spoke the word, And will not palter. --Shak. 4. Separate; distinct. [Obs.] They suppose two other divine hypostases superior thereunto, which were perfectly secret from matter. --Cudworth. Syn: Hidden; concealed; secluded; retired; unseen; unknown; private; obscure; recondite; latent; covert; clandestine; privy. See Hidden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Secret Se"cret, v. t. To keep secret. [Obs.] --Bacon.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(secrets) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something is secret, it is known about by only a small number of people, and is not told or shown to anyone else. Soldiers have been training at a secret location... The police have been trying to keep the documents secret. ADJ: ADJ n, v n ADJ, v-link ADJ see also top secret • secretly He wore a hidden microphone to secretly tape-record conversations. ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/n 2. A secret is a fact that is known by only a small number of people, and is not told to anyone else. I think he enjoyed keeping our love a secret... N-COUNT 3. If you say that a particular way of doing things is the secret of achieving something, you mean that it is the best or only way to achieve it. The secret of success is honesty and fair dealing... N-SING: the N, oft the N of n 4. Something's secrets are the things about it which have never been fully explained. We have an opportunity now to really unlock the secrets of the universe... N-COUNT: usu pl, oft with poss 5. If you do something in secret, you do it without anyone else knowing. Dan found out that I had been meeting my ex-boyfriend in secret. PHRASE: PHR after v 6. If you say that someone can keep a secret, you mean that they can be trusted not to tell other people a secret that you have told them. Tom was utterly indiscreet, and could never keep a secret. PHRASE: V inflects 7. If you make no secret of something, you tell others about it openly and clearly. His wife made no secret of her hatred for the formal occasions... PHRASE: V inflects, PHR of n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

se'-kret: In Eze 7:22, English Versions of the Bible has "secret place" for (tsaphan), "hide," "treasure." A correct translation is, "They shall profane my cherished place" (Jerusalem), and there is no reference to the Holy of Holies. The other uses of "secret" in the Revised Version (British and American) are obvious, but Revised Version's corrections of the King James Version in Jud 13:18; 1Sa 5:9; Job 15:11 should be noted.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Hidden, hid, concealed, covert, privy, close, covered, shrouded, veiled, unseen, unknown, unrevealed, mysterious, cryptic. 2. Clandestine, sly, underhand, underhanded, concealed, hidden, privy, stealthy. 3. Secluded, retired, private, unseen, hid, concealed, privy. 4. Occult, mysterious, latent, obscure, recondite, abstruse, unknown, hidden. II. n. 1. Something concealed. 2. Mystery.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

He has been let into the secret: he has been cheated at gaming or horse-racing. He or she is in the grand secret, i.e. dead.

Moby Thesaurus

abstract, abstruse, arcane, arcanum, beclouded, behind the curtain, behind the scenes, blind, buried, by stealth, cabala, cabalistic, camouflaged, censored, clandestine, classified, classified information, close, closed, closemouthed, clouded, concealed, confidence, confidential, confidential communication, confidentially, covered, covert, cryptic, cryptographic, dark, deep, deep-seated, devious, discreet, disguised, eclipsed, encrypted, enigma, enigmatic, esoteric, esoterica, evasive, furtive, furtively, genitals, guarded secret, heavy, hermetic, hermetics, hid, hidden, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, immanent, imperceptible, implanted, implicit, in a cloud, in a fog, in eclipse, in purdah, in secret, in the wings, inalienable, incommunicado, incomprehensible, indiscernible, indwelling, infixed, ingrained, inherent, inner, insensible, internal, intrinsic, invisible, inward, inwrought, irreducible, latent, lonesome, mysterious, mystery, mystery of mysteries, mystical, obfuscated, obscure, obscured, occult, on the sly, out of sight, out-of-the-way, parts, personal matter, private, private matter, private parts, privately, privates, privileged communication, privity, privy, privy parts, profound, profound secret, pudenda, quiet, quietly, recondite, remote, removed, resident, restricted, restricted information, retired, screened, sealed book, secluded, secluse, secretive, secretly, sequestered, shifty, shrouded, sightless, smothered, sneak, stealthily, stealthy, stifled, subjective, submerged, suppressed, surreptitious, surreptitiously, the occult, top secret, top-secret, transcendental, ulterior, unacknowledged, unalienable, unapparent, unbeheld, unbeholdable, unbreatheable, unchallengeable, uncommunicative, undeclared, under an eclipse, under cover, under house arrest, under security, under wraps, under-the-table, undercover, underground, underhand, underhanded, underneath, undiscernible, undisclosable, undisclosed, undivulgable, undivulged, unknown, unnoticed, unobserved, unperceivable, unperceived, unpublishable, unpublished, unquestionable, unrealized, unrevealable, unrevealed, unseeable, unseen, unspoken, untellable, untold, unutterable, unuttered, unviewed, unwhisperable, unwitnessed, viewless, wrapped in clouds