secretive
75
4.9
- adjective
- /ˈsiːkrətɪv/
- She remained secretive about her personal life, rarely discussing her relationships.
- very secretive
- highly secretive
- a secretive nature
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Watch on YouTubeThey're very secretive people like my mom and dad are.
- They're very secretive people like my mom and dad are.
- So these are the highest cost, riskiest, most secretive investments ever devised by Wall Street.
- There's offshoring tax havens and secretive Swiss banks.
- And we have had twins, we we know sometimes they develop their own secretive language.
- Absolutely hilarious person, so funny, but very secretive.
- So my world was very cocooned, very secretive.
- And so he's touching his body under the water, you know, being secretive, doing secretive touch.
Examples
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By contrast, Massachusetts firms were highly secretive and self-contained, thus reducing inter-company interactions.
Academic text (2011) -
He was very secretive about his life.
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So who is in this secretive grand jury room?
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Oh, right now we're in a secretive government building.
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Now that sounds like an incredibly secretive and exciting job to have, and it really is.
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Besides, you should understand why I was so secretive.
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Her father was quite secretive, and if there were relatives, he had never mentioned them.
Fiction book (1996) -
One can actually get angry at the writers of the past for being so secretive.
Academic text (2012) -
Eventually, performances of the Ghost Dance became more secretive, unannounced, and unnamed.
Academic text (2008) -
The Human Hibernation Project... was one of the army's most ambitious experiments... and one of its most secretive.
Synonyms
173
7.0
Not willing to tell others about something
129
6.8
Done secretly to avoid being seen or known
106
5.8
Careful about what you say and do to avoid upsetting people or drawing attention
26
7.5
People keep it secret from most others to avoid being noticed
18
7.3
Not giving a direct answer to hide the truth or avoid commitment
17
5.7
Not willing to speak or give information
16
7.9
Not willing to talk about thoughts or feelings easily
14
7.5
Careful not to give away information or show their plans
2
7.1
Not willing to talk or answer questions
1
7.5
Not willing to talk or share information
1
8.3
Not willing to tell people private things
Antonyms
How Secretive
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Secretive comes from secret, which comes from an old Latin word meaning 'separate' and is the same idea behind the common word separate. So a secretive person keeps things 'apart' and does not tell others.