secretly Definition

secret
adj

1. Kept hidden or away from the knowledge of others.

Thesaurus: hidden, mysterious, enigmatic, esoteric, arcane, dark, obscure, clouded, latent; covert, clandestine, underhanded, stealthy, sly, surreptitious, undercover; confidential, classified, restricted, private, privileged, hush-hush, under one's hat, under wraps; Antonym: known, revealed, exposed, above-board, overt.
2. Unknown or unobserved by others.

Example: a secret army
3. Tending to conceal things from others; private or secretive.
4. Guarded against discovery or observation.

Example: a secret location

noun

1. Something not disclosed, or not to be disclosed, to others.
2. An unknown or unrevealed method of achievement.

Example: the secret of eternal youth
3. A central but sometimes elusive principle, explanation, etc.

Example: the secret of a good marriage
Thesaurus: answer, key, cause, explanation, essence.
4. A fact or purpose that remains unexplained or unidentified; a mystery.

Thesaurus: mystery, enigma, conundrum.
5. relig.
A quietly spoken or silent prayer by the celebrant after the offertory and immediately before the preface.

Derivative: secretly
adverb

Idiom: in secret

Secretly; unknown to others.

Idiom: in on the secret (in the secret)

Having knowledge of or participating in it.

Idiom: keep a secret

Not to disclose or reveal it.

Etymology: 14c: from Latin secretus set apart, from se apart + cernere to separate.