Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Kept hidden from knowledge or view; not known or meant to be known by others: Refers to information, actions, or things that are concealed.
   • Operating in a hidden or confidential way: Describes activities, agents, or missions that are covert.
   • Secluded or private: Describes a place that is hidden from general view.

2. Noun:

   • Something that is kept hidden or is not known by others: A piece of information, knowledge, or a fact that is concealed.
   • A method, formula, or technique that is not widely known: Often implies a special or effective way of doing something.
   • Something that is not fully understood; a mystery: Refers to an aspect of nature or life that is puzzling or unexplained.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • They had a secret meeting to discuss the plan. (The meeting was hidden from others.)
  • He is a secret agent for the government. (His true role is concealed.)
  • We found a secret garden behind the old wall. (The garden was hidden from view.)

• Noun:

  • Can you keep a secret? (Can you not tell others this hidden information?)
  • The secret to her success is hard work. (The special, not-obvious method for her success.)
  • Scientists are still trying to unlock the secrets of the universe. (The unexplained mysteries.)

Advanced Usage

• "In secret": Done in a hidden or private manner.
  • The negotiations were conducted in secret.
• "Open secret": Something supposed to be secret but actually known to many people.
  • It's an open secret that they are dating.
• "Secret to success": The key factor or method for achieving success.
  • Patience is the secret to success in this field.

Variants and Related Words

• Secrecy (n): The state of being secret or keeping something secret.
  • The project was shrouded in secrecy.
• Secretive (adj): Inclined to conceal feelings, intentions, or information.
  • He is very secretive about his personal life.
• Secretly (adv): In a secret manner.
  • She secretly admired his work.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Hidden, concealed, covert, clandestine, confidential, private.
• Noun: Confidence, mystery, enigma, formula, key.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Keep something secret: To not tell anyone about something.
  • You must keep this information secret.
• Let someone in on a secret: To tell someone a secret.
  • She let me in on the secret about the surprise party.

Related Idioms

• Secret weapon: A hidden advantage or resource.
  • His extensive network is his secret weapon in business.
• Best-kept secret: Something very good that is known to only a few people.
  • This little café is the town's best-kept secret.

Adjective

1. the next to highest level of official classification for documents
2. 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
3. indulging only covertly
   • a secret alcoholic
4. (of information) given in confidence or in secret
   • this arrangement must be kept confidential
   • their secret communications
5. hidden from general view or use
   • a privy place to rest and think
   • a secluded romantic spot
   • a secret garden
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
7. not expressed
   • secret (or private) thoughts
8. communicated covertly
   • their secret signal was a wink
   • secret messages
9. not openly made known
   • a secret marriage
   • a secret bride
10. 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
11. not open or public; kept private or not revealed
    • a secret formula
    • secret ingredients
    • secret talks

Noun

1. something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
   • how it got out is a mystery
   • it remains one of nature's secrets
2. information known only to a special group
   • the secret of Cajun cooking
3. 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