Definition

Adjective: 1. Kept secret or confidential; not to be disclosed or discussed publicly: Refers to information, activities, or matters that are deliberately concealed from general knowledge. 2. Characterized by secrecy or covertness: Describes operations or affairs conducted in a secretive manner.

Usage

The adjective "hush-hush" is used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like "is" or "was"). It is an informal term that emphasizes the need for discretion and silence about a subject. It often implies that the secrecy is official or institutional.

Examples

• Attributive use:
  • The details of the merger are still hush-hush until the official announcement.
  • He was assigned to a hush-hush government project.
• Predicative use:
  • The whole operation was very hush-hush.
  • Please keep this hush-hush for now.

Advanced Usage

• "to be hush-hush about something": To be deliberately secretive or tight-lipped concerning a particular matter.
  • The management is being very hush-hush about the layoffs.

Variants and Related Words

• Hush (verb/noun): To make or become silent; a silence or quiet.
  • They tried to hush the scandal.
• Hushed (adjective): (Of a place, voice, or conversation) quiet, subdued, or conducted in low tones, often because of secrecy or reverence.
  • They spoke in hushed tones about the incident.

Synonyms

• Secret: Kept hidden from knowledge or view.
• Confidential: Intended to be kept secret.
• Clandestine: Kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit.
• Covert: Not openly acknowledged or displayed.
• Classified: (Of information) officially declared secret.

Antonyms

• Public: Of or concerning the people as a whole; open to general knowledge.
• Open: Allowed to be accessed or known; not secret.
• Overt: Done or shown openly; plainly apparent.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Keep something under wraps: To keep something secret.
  • The new product design is being kept under wraps; it's all very hush-hush.
• Behind closed doors: In private; secretly.
  • The negotiations happened behind closed doors; it was a hush-hush affair.

Adjective

1. 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