secret meaning and definition

SECRET noun

Definition of secret (noun)

1. something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
   • "the combination to the safe was a secret"; "he tried to keep his drinking a secret"
2. information known only to a special group
   • "the secret of Cajun cooking"
   • synonyms: arcanum
3. something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
   • "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one of nature's secrets"
   • synonyms: closed book, enigma, mystery

SECRET adjective

Definition of secret (adjective)

1. not open or public; kept private or not revealed
   • "a secret formula"; "secret ingredients"; "secret talks"
2. conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
   • "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"
   • synonyms: clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, surreptitious, undercover, underground
3. not openly made known
   • "a secret marriage"; "a secret bride"
   • synonyms: unavowed
4. communicated covertly
   • "their secret signal was a wink"; "secret messages"
5. not expressed
   • "secret (or private) thoughts"
   • synonyms: private
6. designed to elude detection
   • "a hidden room or place of concealment such as a priest hole"; "a secret passage"; "the secret compartment in the desk"
   • synonyms: hidden
7. hidden from general view or use
   • "a privy place to rest and think"; "a secluded romantic spot"; "a secret garden"
   • synonyms: privy, secluded
8. (of information) given in confidence or in secret
   • "this arrangement must be kept confidential"; "their secret communications"
   • synonyms: confidential
9. indulging only covertly
   • "a secret alcoholic"
10. having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding
    • "mysterious symbols"; "the mystical style of Blake"; "occult lore"; "the secret learning of the ancients"
    • synonyms: mysterious, mystic, mystical, occult, orphic
11. the next to highest level of official classification for documents