Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not openly acknowledged or declared: Refers to something that is kept hidden, secret, or not publicly admitted.
   • Not affirmed or professed: Describes a belief, feeling, or fact that is not stated or confessed openly.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • He had an unavowed motive for helping them. (His reason for helping was not openly stated.)
  • She felt an unavowed admiration for her rival's work. (Her admiration was not openly expressed.)
  • The agreement remained an unavowed understanding between the two parties. (The agreement was not formally declared or admitted.)

Advanced Usage

• "unavowed agenda": A hidden set of goals or intentions.
  • The politician was suspected of having an unavowed agenda for the new policy.
• "unavowed feelings": Emotions that are not confessed or revealed.
  • His unavowed feelings of jealousy eventually caused problems.

Variants and Related Words

• Unacknowledged (adj): Not recognized or admitted.
• Undisclosed (adj): Not revealed or made known.
• Covert (adj): Not openly shown or engaged in; secret.
• Tacit (adj): Understood or implied without being directly stated.

Synonyms

• Secret
• Hidden
• Undeclared
• Unconfessed
• Unspoken

Antonyms

• Avowed
• Declared
• Open
• Acknowledged
• Professedly

Related Phrases and Usage Notes

• The term is often used in formal or literary contexts to describe motives, intentions, alliances, or emotions that are deliberately kept from public knowledge or official recognition.
• It emphasizes a state of being avowed, focusing on the lack of open declaration rather than necessarily implying deception.

Adjective

1. not openly made known
   • a secret marriage
   • a secret bride
2. not affirmed or mentioned or declared
3. not openly expressed
   • a sneaking suspicion