Skip to main content
secret

secret

125 6.3
Hard to understand or explain
  • adjective
  • /ˈsiːkrɪt/
translation icon : misterioso
  • When people ask, like, what's the, what's the secret to health?
  • secret knowledge
  • secret language
  • a secret rite

It's still encoded, but it's secret, It's cryptic.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • It's, like, a secret guy language.

  • I think that in there lies the secret to a successful relationship.

  • I thought it might have a secret catch.

  • I think music is the secret key to all my learning.

    Academic text (2012)
  • So this is like the secret to the creative universe.

  • And that is the secret to most junk food.

  • But, I'm gonna share with you the secret ingredient that makes all the difference.

  • The two girls trust each other with their most secret thoughts and feelings without fear of disloyalty.

    Academic text (1992)
  • During their novitiate, the young men learn the secret metaphoric language mentioned earlier.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The magician's tricks often involve a secret formula that leaves the audience in awe.

Synonyms

mysterious
vssecret
498 5.1

Hard to understand or explain because it seems strange

is a general label for things beyond ordinary understanding
hidden
vssecret
125 1.1

A thing that is not easily seen or found

emphasizes being beyond understanding rather than simply being concealed
mystical
vssecret
106 7.1

Having a spiritual quality that feels beyond normal understanding

is wider, applying to any obscure meaning, not only spiritual matters
cryptic
vssecret
43 8.1

Hard to understand because it seems secret or mysterious

is more general, covering all meanings that are beyond easy explanation
occult
vssecret
35 9.0

Hidden from view and not easy to see

focuses mainly on being beyond understanding rather than physical concealment
enigmatic
vssecret
27 8.1

Hard to understand and often seems mysterious

is broader, naming anything beyond common understanding rather than just puzzling
arcane
vssecret
27 9.8

Only a few people understand it

is more general, applying to any knowledge beyond ordinary understanding
inscrutable
vssecret
12 8.9

Hard to understand because it shows no clear meaning or feeling

is similar but can include things that are merely hard, not impossible, to grasp
4 7.7

Hidden and hard to understand because it is secret

is the general idea of being beyond ordinary understanding rather than the surrounding secrecy
cabalistic
vssecret
  • Literature
1 9.9

Mysterious and secret, like a code understood by only a few people

is broader, covering mystery without requiring a hidden code
enigmatical
vssecret
1 9.3

Hard to understand, like a puzzle

is the wider term for meaning that lies beyond ordinary grasp
recondite
vssecret
  • Formal
1 9.9

A subject that only a few people understand because it is hard to follow

is not limited to rare subjects, but to anything beyond common understanding
cryptical
vssecret
  • Archaic
9.9

Hard to understand because it has a hidden meaning

is about being beyond normal understanding, not just concealed meaning
orphic
vssecret
  • Literature
9.9

Mysterious and hard to understand, often about deep spiritual ideas

is broader, not restricted to taught or hidden spiritual teachings

Antonyms

1.0

Easy to understand and not confusing

1.0

Easy to see or understand

Idioms

56 2.5

In a way other people do not know

A helpful idea or tool kept secret to use when needed

Compounds

381 3.4

A United States government group that protects the president and vice president and investigates fake money

top-secret
  • Formal
65 5.9

Information that only a very small number of people are allowed to know

top secret
  • Formal
55 4.2

Information that the government keeps private for security reasons

27 3.4

A person who gathers hidden information for a government about enemies

27 6.6

A group that works for the government in secret to watch and punish people who oppose it

A group whose members keep their identity and activities hidden from others

A private job done secretly to gather information

trade secret
  • Specialized
15 3.9

Secret method or recipe a business keeps to stay ahead of other companies

A hidden thing added to food or an idea that makes it better

13 4.3

A plan people keep secret to do something wrong

11 6.5

Information a government keeps secret because it affects the country's safety

People vote privately so no one knows their choice

A place or thing only a few people know about that is especially good

open secret
  • Informal
6 4.0

Something people try to hide but many already know

A private hand gesture used by a group to show membership or friendship

3 5.2

A set of words, letters or signs used to hide a message

3 7.4

Very private and known by only a few people

A government group that protects the US president, vice president, their families, visiting leaders, and stops people making fake money

2 3.4

A fact many people know although others try to keep it hidden

secret code
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A set of numbers or letters used to unlock an account

secret writing
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A way of writing that uses codes so only certain people can read it

1 7.7

A very private piece of information kept from most people

A United States government agency that protects the president, other top officials, and investigates money crimes

secret handshake
  • Specialized
1 8.0

A short message exchange that proves identity and creates keys for secure communication

A British government group that gathers secret information overseas and protects Britain from foreign spies

An armed group that attacked to force Turkey to admit the Armenian Genocide, pay money, and give land to Armenia

A place or fact known only by people who live nearby

A silent permission for someone to do something wrong

A list of ingredients and steps that people keep secret to make a food unique

How Mysterious

arcane
27 9.8
esoteric
  • Formal
26 9.7
secret
125 6.3
obscure
28 8.2
unclear
207 3.9
clear
1.0

Surface Forms

secret positive

Etymology

The word secret comes from Latin se- 'apart' and a root for 'to separate', similar to separate, and it once meant knowledge kept 'apart' from ordinary people. That's why a 'secret' can mean something 'mysterious' or not easily understood.