SECRET
Dictionary entry overview: What does secret mean?
• SECRET (noun)
The noun SECRET has 3 senses:
1. something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
2. information known only to a special group
3. something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
Familiarity information: SECRET used as a noun is uncommon.
• SECRET (adjective)
The adjective SECRET has 11 senses:
1. not open or public; kept private or not revealed
2. conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
3. not openly made known
4. communicated covertly
5. not expressed
6. designed to elude detection
7. hidden from general view or use
8. (of information) given in confidence or in secret
9. indulging only covertly
10. having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding
11. the next to highest level of official classification for documents
Familiarity information: SECRET used as an adjective is familiar.
Dictionary entry details
• SECRET (noun)
Meaning:
Something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Context examples:
the combination to the safe was a secret / he tried to keep his drinking a secret
Hypernyms ("secret" is a kind of...):
info; information (a message received and understood)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "secret"):
confidence (a secret that is confided or entrusted to another)
open secret (something that is supposed to be secret but is generally known)
trade secret (a secret (method or device or formula) that gives a manufacturer an advantage over the competition)
Meaning:
Information known only to a special group
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
arcanum; secret
Context example:
the secret of Cajun cooking
Hypernyms ("secret" is a kind of...):
info; information (a message received and understood)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "secret"):
esoterica (secrets known only to an initiated minority)
cabala; cabbala; cabbalah; kabala; kabbala; kabbalah; qabala; qabalah (an esoteric or occult matter resembling the Kabbalah that is traditionally secret)
countersign; parole; password; watchword; word (a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group)
Meaning:
Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
closed book; enigma; mystery; secret
Context examples:
how it got out is a mystery / it remains one of nature's secrets
Hypernyms ("secret" is a kind of...):
perplexity (trouble or confusion resulting from complexity)
• SECRET (adjective)
Meaning:
Not open or public; kept private or not revealed
Context examples:
a secret formula / secret ingredients / secret talks
Similar:
concealed (hidden on any grounds for any motive)
Meaning:
Conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
Synonyms:
undercover; hush-hush; cloak-and-dagger; clandestine; hole-and-corner; hugger-mugger; secret; surreptitious; underground
Context examples:
clandestine intelligence operations / cloak-and-dagger activities behind enemy lines / hole-and-corner intrigue / secret missions / a secret agent / secret sales of arms / surreptitious mobilization of troops / an undercover investigation / underground resistance
Similar:
covert (secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed)
Meaning:
Not openly made known
Synonyms:
secret; unavowed
Context examples:
a secret marriage / a secret bride
Similar:
unacknowledged (not recognized or admitted)
Meaning:
Communicated covertly
Context examples:
their secret signal was a wink / secret messages
Similar:
covert (secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed)
Meaning:
Not expressed
Synonyms:
private; secret
Context example:
secret (or private) thoughts
Similar:
inward (relating to or existing in the mind or thoughts)
Meaning:
Designed to elude detection
Synonyms:
hidden; secret
Context examples:
a hidden room or place of concealment such as a priest hole / a secret passage / the secret compartment in the desk
Similar:
concealed (hidden on any grounds for any motive)
Meaning:
Hidden from general view or use
Synonyms:
privy; secluded; secret
Context examples:
a privy place to rest and think / a secluded romantic spot / a secret garden
Similar:
private (confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy)
Meaning:
(of information) given in confidence or in secret
Synonyms:
confidential; secret
Context examples:
this arrangement must be kept confidential / their secret communications
Similar:
private (confined to particular persons or groups or providing privacy)
Meaning:
Indulging only covertly
Context example:
a secret alcoholic
Similar:
covert (secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed)
Meaning:
Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding
Synonyms:
mystic; orphic; occult; mysterious; mystical; secret
Context examples:
mysterious symbols / the mystical style of Blake / occult lore / the secret learning of the ancients
Similar:
esoteric (confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle)
Meaning:
The next to highest level of official classification for documents
Similar:
classified (official classification of information or documents; withheld from general circulation)
