secret
- adjective
- /ˈsiːkrɪt/
- Formal
- However, this is the secret source of perfume.
- top secret
- secret documents
- secret diplomatic cable
The Nazis thought it was a secret Allied weapon.
- The Nazis thought it was a secret Allied weapon.
- And her father worked in what she called the secret space program.
Examples
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Only a few employees have access to the secret files related to the classified project.
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Black budgets are simply budgets for secret operations that are not made public.
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And look, this is where the secret key goes back in.
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We have passed you everything we have on his secret weapons programs.
Fiction book (1994) -
A September demonstration protesting the pact's secret protocols was broken up by special police forces.
Academic text (1990) -
Maps, charts, and nautical logbooks were viewed by European rulers as secret documents whose unauthorized publication was punishable.
Academic text (1994) -
The government has classified the details of the operation as secret for national security reasons.
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The secret meeting took place behind closed doors to discuss sensitive information.
Synonyms
Information that must be kept secret to protect national security
Done secretly to avoid being seen or known
Kept secret and not told to other people
Most people do not know about it
People keep it secret from most others to avoid being noticed
Very private and known by only a few people
Kept secret and shown only to people with permission
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
A helpful idea or tool kept secret to use when needed
Compounds
A United States government group that protects the president and vice president and investigates fake money
A group that works for the government in secret to watch and punish people who oppose it
- Specialized
Secret method or recipe a business keeps to stay ahead of other companies
- Formal
A government group that protects the US president, vice president, their families, visiting leaders, and stops people making fake money
- Specialized
A way of writing that uses codes so only certain people can read it
A United States government agency that protects the president, other top officials, and investigates money crimes
- Specialized
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
How Secret
- Formal
- Formal
- Formal
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word secret comes from Latin se- 'apart' and a root meaning 'to separate', like the word separate, so it originally meant 'set apart'. That's why official secret files are put 'apart' and only a few people have permission to see them.