Nearby Words

Secret

[see-krit] Origin

se·cret

[see-krit]
adjective
1.
done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others: secret negotiations.
2.
kept from the knowledge of any but the initiated or privileged: a secret password.
3.
faithful or cautious in keeping confidential matters confidential; close-mouthed; reticent.
4.
designed or working to escape notice, knowledge, or observation: a secret drawer; the secret police.
5.
secluded, sheltered, or withdrawn: a secret hiding place.
EXPAND
6.
beyond ordinary human understanding; esoteric.
7.
(of information, a document, etc.)
a.
bearing the classification secret.
b.
limited to persons authorized to use information documents, etc., so classified.
COLLAPSE
noun
8.
something that is or is kept secret, hidden, or concealed.
9.
a mystery: the secrets of nature.
10.
a reason or explanation not immediately or generally apparent.
11.
a method, formula, plan, etc., known only to the initiated or the few: the secret of happiness; a trade secret.
12.
a classification assigned to information, a document, etc., considered less vital to security than top-secret but more vital than confidential, and limiting its use to persons who have been cleared, as by various government agencies, as trustworthy to handle such material. Compare classification (def. 5).
EXPAND
13.
(initial capital letter) Liturgy. a variable prayer in the Roman and other Latin liturgies, said inaudibly by the celebrant after the offertory and immediately before the preface.
COLLAPSE

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Secret is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
14.
in secret, unknown to others; in private; secretly: A resistance movement was already being organized in secret.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English secrette < Old French secret < Latin sēcrētus hidden, orig. past participle of sēcernere to secern

se·cret·ly, adverb
se·cret·ness, noun
non·se·cret, adjective, noun
non·se·cret·ly, adverb
qua·si-se·cret, adjective
EXPAND
qua·si-se·cret·ly, adverb
sem·i·se·cret, adjective
sem·i·se·cret·ly, adverb
su·per·se·cret, noun
ul·tra·se·cret, adjective
ul·tra·se·cret·ly, adverb
un·se·cret·ly, adverb
COLLAPSE


1. clandestine, hidden, concealed, covert. 1, 2. private, confidential. 3. secretive. 6. occult, obscure, mysterious.


1. open, manifest.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Secret
Collins
World English Dictionary
secret (ˈsiːkrɪt)
 
adj
1.  kept hidden or separate from the knowledge of othersRelated: cryptic
2.  known only to initiates: a secret password
3.  hidden from general view or use: a secret garden
4.  able or tending to keep things private or to oneself
5.  operating without the knowledge of outsiders: a secret society
6.  outside the normal range of knowledge
 
n
7.  something kept or to be kept hidden
8.  something unrevealed; mystery
9.  an underlying explanation, reason, etc, that is not apparent: the secret of success
10.  a method, plan, etc, known only to initiates
11.  liturgy a variable prayer, part of the Mass, said by the celebrant after the offertory and before the preface
12.  in the secret among the people who know a secret
 
Related: cryptic
 
[C14: via Old French from Latin sēcrētus concealed, from sēcernere to sift; see secern]
 
'secretly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

secret
late 14c. (n.), c.1400 (adj.), from L. secretus "set apart, withdrawn, hidden," originally pp. of secernere "to set apart," from se- "without, apart," prop. on one's own (from PIE *sed-, from base *s(w)e-; see idiom) + cernere "separate" (see
EXPAND
crisis). The verb meaning "to keep secret" (described in OED as "obsolete") is attested from 1590s. Secretive is attested from 1853. Secret agent first recorded 1715; secret service is from 1737; secret weapon is from 1936.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

secret

see in secret; open secret.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature