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Glite Dictionary
secret writing

secret writing

1 8.2
A way of writing that uses codes so only certain people can read it
  • noun
  • /ˈsiːkrɪt ˈraɪtɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : escritura secreta
  • The spy communicated using secret writing to ensure their messages were unreadable to outsiders.

He loved the idea of secret writing and he also taught himself to type touch typing.

Examples

  • He loved the idea of secret writing and he also taught himself to type touch typing.

    Computerphile

  • Writing in 1973, he observed that "many of these pots have mysterious signs which appear to represent the nsibidi or secret writing which is no longer understood in the area" (Nicklin 1973:185).

    Academic text (2007)

  • The letter-writing wallet held all the treated paper for secret writing.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • So was writing top secret information "in clear," and there was no indication that Jericho knew anything about secret writing.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • No more than that because remember this: there is no secret writing that cannot be deciphered with a bit of patience.

    Blog text (22)

  • All quite beautiful and touching, save for the fact that the paper was filled with secret writing for her German friends detailing changes to the American order of battle here.

    The Good Shepherd (2006)

  • They taught the thirty-year-old Chilean secret writing and basic codes, miniature photography, and the reduction of photographs to microdots.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Throughout history, many leaders have employed secret writing to protect their plans from enemies.

  • In the classroom, the students learned how to create secret writing with simple ciphers.

Synonyms

cipher
vssecret writing
  • Specialized
28 8.8

A secret way of writing to hide a message

refers generally to using encoding to keep messages secret
coding
vssecret writing
  • Specialized
17 4.1

Writing messages in a secret code to hide their meaning

is the resulting encoded content rather than the process that creates it
cryptography
vssecret writing
  • Specialized
8 7.4

To make and break codes to keep messages secret

is the produced encoded text rather than the wider scientific practice
cryptogram
vssecret writing
3 9.5

A piece of writing in a code that you can solve

is broader, covering encoded text whether meant to be solved or kept hidden
secret code
vssecret writing
3 5.2

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

describes the actual encoded content made using such a system
steganography
vssecret writing
  • Specialized
2 9.9

A way of hiding a message inside another file like a picture

uses explicit encoding to disguise messages rather than hiding them inside other data
cypher
vssecret writing
  • UK
1 8.9

A secret written message that hides the true meaning

focuses on the content produced by those hiding methods rather than the system
cryptograph
vssecret writing
9.9

A written message in code that keeps its meaning secret

covers any use of encoding in text to prevent unintended readers from understanding it

How Secret

data encryption
  • Specialized
1 4.3
secret writing
  • Specialized
1 8.2
voice for print
  • Literature
6.8

Surface Forms

secret writing singular
secret writings plural

Morphology

secret + writing

The meaning 'writing that uses codes or ciphers to keep messages hidden' is directly derivable from combining 'secret' (hidden, not to be seen) with 'writing' (texts), so the overall sense follows ordinary adjective+noun composition. This is a common, cross-linguistically transparent pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand the MWE.

Etymology

Secret writing comes from the real practice of hiding messages on paper so others cannot read them. Spies and soldiers used 'codes' or invisible ink to turn ordinary letters into secret writing, so the phrase now means writing put into 'codes' to keep information secret.