What does secret mean?

Definitions for secret
ˈsi krɪtse·cret

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word secret.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. secretnoun

    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. secret, arcanumnoun

    information known only to a special group

    "the secret of Cajun cooking"

  3. mystery, enigma, secret, closed bookadjective

    something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

    "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one of nature's secrets"

  4. secretadjective

    not open or public; kept private or not revealed

    "a secret formula"; "secret ingredients"; "secret talks"

  5. clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, hole-and-corner(a), hugger-mugger, hush-hush, secret, surreptitious, undercover, undergroundadjective

    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"

  6. unavowed, secretadjective

    not openly made known

    "a secret marriage"; "a secret bride"

  7. secretadjective

    communicated covertly

    "their secret signal was a wink"; "secret messages"

  8. secret, privateadjective

    not expressed

    "secret (or private) thoughts"

  9. hidden, secretadjective

    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"

  10. privy, secluded, secretadjective

    hidden from general view or use

    "a privy place to rest and think"; "a secluded romantic spot"; "a secret garden"

  11. confidential, secretadjective

    (of information) given in confidence or in secret

    "this arrangement must be kept confidential"; "their secret communications"

  12. secretadjective

    indulging only covertly

    "a secret alcoholic"

  13. mysterious, mystic, mystical, occult, secret, orphicadjective

    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"

  14. secretadjective

    the next to highest level of official classification for documents

Wiktionary

  1. secretnoun

    Knowledge that is hidden and intended to be kept hidden.

    Can you keep a secret? So can I.

  2. secretverb

    To make or keep secret.

  3. secretadjective

    Being or kept hidden.

    We went down a secret passage.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. SECRETadjective

    Etymology: secret, French; secretus, Latin.

    The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us. Deutr. xxix. 29.

    Thou open’st wisdom’s way,
    And giv’st access, though secret she retire:
    And I perhaps am secret. John Milton.

    Secret Romans, that have spoke the word,
    And will not palter? William Shakespeare, Julius Cæsar.

  2. Secretnoun

    Etymology: secret, French; secretum, Latin.

    Infected minds
    To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. William Shakespeare.

    There is no secret that they can hide from thee. Ezek. xxviii.

    We not to explore the secrets ask
    Of his eternal empire. John Milton.

    All blest secrets,
    All you unpublish’d virtues of the earth. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

    All secrets of the deep, all nature’s works. John Milton.

    The Romans seem not to have known the secret of paper-credit. Arbuthnot.

    Bread eaten in secret is pleasant. Prov. ix. 17.

    In secret, riding through the air she comes. John Milton.

  3. To Secretverb

    To keep private.

    Etymology: from the noun.

    Great care is to be used of the clerks of the council, for the secreting of their consultations. Francis Bacon, Advice to Villiers.

Wikipedia

  1. secret

    Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controversial, depending on the content or nature of the secret, the group or people keeping the secret, and the motivation for secrecy. Secrecy by government entities is often decried as excessive or in promotion of poor operation; excessive revelation of information on individuals can conflict with virtues of privacy and confidentiality. It is often contrasted with social transparency. Secrecy can exist in a number of different ways: encoding or encryption (where mathematical and technical strategies are used to hide messages), true secrecy (where restrictions are put upon those who take part of the message, such as through government security classification) and obfuscation, where secrets are hidden in plain sight behind complex idiosyncratic language (jargon) or steganography. Another classification proposed by Claude Shannon in 1948 reads there are three systems of secrecy within communication: concealment systems, including such methods as invisible ink, concealing a message in an innocent text, or in a fake covering cryptogram, or other methods in which the existence of the message is concealed from the enemy privacy systems, for example, voice inversion, in which special equipment is required to recover the message "true" secrecy systems where the meaning of the message is concealed by the cypher, code, etc., although its existence is not hidden, and the enemy is assumed to have any special equipment necessary to intercept and record the transmitted signal

ChatGPT

  1. secret

    A secret refers to information, knowledge, or an aspect of someone's personal or professional life that is intentionally kept hidden or unknown to others. Secrets are typically kept confidential and not shared with anyone else. They may involve sensitive or private matters and are often protected to maintain trust, security, or maintain an advantage.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Secretadjective

    hidden; concealed; as, secret treasure; secret plans; a secret vow

  2. Secretadjective

    withdraw from general intercourse or notice; in retirement or secrecy; secluded

  3. Secretadjective

    faithful to a secret; not inclined to divulge or betray confidence; secretive

  4. Secretadjective

    separate; distinct

  5. Secretadjective

    something studiously concealed; a thing kept from general knowledge; what is not revealed, or not to be revealed

  6. Secretadjective

    a thing not discovered; what is unknown or unexplained; a mystery

  7. Secretadjective

    the parts which modesty and propriety require to be concealed; the genital organs

  8. Secretverb

    to keep secret

  9. Etymology: [F. secret (cf. Pr. secret, Sp. & Pg. secreto, It. secreto, segreto), from L. secretum. See Secret, a.]

Wikidata

  1. Secret

    Secret is the eighth studio album by Japanese pop singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki, released by Avex Trax on November 29, 2006 in Japan. The album was successful on many charts across Asia and has gone triple platinum in Japan. Secret received an "Album of the Year" award at the Japan Gold Disc Awards and its title track received the award for "Japanese Song of the Year" at the RTHK International awards at Hong Kong. It became the 22nd best selling album of 2006 according to the Oricon.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Secret

    sē′kret, adj. concealed from notice: removed from sight: unrevealed: hidden: secluded: retired: private: keeping secrets: reserved.—n. that which is concealed: anything unrevealed or unknown: privacy: the key or principle by which something is made clear: a form of steel skull-cap: one of the prayers in the Mass, immediately following the 'Orate, fratres,' said inaudibly by the celebrant: (pl.) any prayers said secretly and not aloud: the parts of the body which are concealed.—ns. Sē′crecy, the state of being secret: separation: concealment: retirement: privacy: fidelity to a secret: the keeping of secrets; Sē′cretage, a process in dressing furs.—adj. Sē′cret-false (Shak.), secretly false, while apparently sincere.—adv. Sē′cretly, in a secret manner: privately: unknown to others: inwardly.—n. Sē′cretness, the state of being secret.—Secret service, a department of government service.—Open secret, a secret which all may inquire into. [Fr.,—L. secretussecernĕre, secretumse-, apart, cernĕre, to separate.]

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. secret

    1. A thing we give to others to keep for us. 2. Something known only to a few.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

  1. secret

    See security classification.

Editors Contribution

  1. secretverb

    Translation of the Greek word "musterion" it is a secret hidden in the past but now revealed.

    The secret war in revelation is at the hand of the Most High.

    Etymology: Code


    Submitted by Tony_Elyon on September 4, 2023  

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. SECRET

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Secret is ranked #147253 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Secret surname appeared 112 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Secret.

    63.3% or 71 total occurrences were White.
    21.4% or 24 total occurrences were Black.
    7.1% or 8 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    5.3% or 6 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'secret' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2802

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'secret' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4670

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'secret' in Nouns Frequency: #1226

  4. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'secret' in Adjectives Frequency: #379

Anagrams for secret »

  1. certes

  2. erects

  3. resect

  4. terces

  5. screet

How to pronounce secret?

How to say secret in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of secret in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of secret in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of secret in a Sentence

  1. Chuck Laudner:

    You have to convince them there's no secret handshake, we have so many supporters out there that we have to train if they're going to be caucus captains and take charge in their precinct.

  2. Voltaire:

    The secret of being boring is to say everything.

  3. Stephen Fagin:

    There's nothing more tantalizing than looking at a flickering a film projected on a wall, trying to find details in the grainy shadows and digging through secret locked files and looking for evidence, looking for some nugget of information that's never been revealed before.

  4. Stephanie Grisham:

    BeBest is the First Lady's initiative, and she will continue to use it to do all she can to help children. It is no secret that the President and First Lady often communicate differently -- as most married couples do. Their son is not an activist who travels the globe giving speeches. He is a 13-year-old who wants and deserves privacy.

  5. Ajay Royan:

    You're looking for something that is slightly hidden, the secret that was hidden in plain sight.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

secret#1#2600#10000

Translations for secret

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"secret." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/secret>.

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