in secret

ADJECTIVE

behind-the-scenes

Synonyms

WEAK

backstage behind the curtain in a corner in the dark out of public view sub-rosa

ADVERB

huggermugger

Synonyms

WEAK

behind closed doors behind someone's back by stealth clandestinely confidentially covertly furtively hush-hush in camera in confidence in holes and corners in strict confidence insidiously intimately o obscurely on the Q.T.

ADVERB

secretly

Synonyms

STRONGEST

clandestinely covertly furtively personally privately quietly stealthily surreptitiously

WEAK

behind closed doors behind someone's back by stealth confidentially hush-hush in camera in confidence in holes and corners in strict confidence insidiously intimately obscurely on the Q.T. on the quiet on the sly privily slyly sub-rosa under the table underhandedly unobserved

Antonyms

STRONGEST

publicly

WEAK

openly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Veterans and their advocates generally welcomed the announced new housing but also expressed skepticism about an initiative that has been planned in secret with no opportunity for review by its beneficiaries.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Tracing deportees as they are shuffled across borders in secret has been a recurring issue, lawyers have told AFP.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

“Any self-imposed pause could lift at any moment, in secret and without warning,” the Maryland Attorney General’s Office wrote in response.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026

Liquidators under government control then sold the company in secret, with no accounting of the proceeds from the sale of its printing presses and other assets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Nothing remained but to observe, in secret, his private and deep distress.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

in secret

Example Sentences

Related Words