What does secretive mean?

Definitions for secretive
ˈsi krɪ tɪv, sɪˈkri-se·cre·tive

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

Princeton's WordNet

  1. close, closelipped, closemouthed, secretive, tightlippedadjective

    inclined to secrecy or reticence about divulging information

    "although they knew her whereabouts her friends kept close about it"

Wiktionary

  1. secretiveadjective

    Having an inclination to secrecy.

Wikipedia

  1. secretive

    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. secretive

    Secretive refers to the tendency or behavior of keeping one's thoughts, intentions, or actions hidden or concealed from others. It implies being reluctant or unwilling to divulge information or share personal details. Someone or something described as secretive often tends to avoid transparency or openness.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Secretiveadjective

    tending to secrete, or to keep secret or private; as, a secretive disposition

How to pronounce secretive?

How to say secretive in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of secretive in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of secretive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of secretive in a Sentence

  1. Nicholas Alahverdian:

    A conspiracy, in short, is based on small groups with inherently competing interests. At some point in the evolution of the competition between two or more groups (and in some cases, within subversive groups), there are rumors or allegations made of sinister behavior or a secretive plot developed by the members or the leadership of the groups. Occasionally, the groups will have diametrically opposed goals and this leads to further subversion.

  2. Andrew Erickson:

    China is typically secretive about its Third Sea Force( behind the PLA Navy and coast guard), which might conceivably number in the thousands of vessels and in the tens of thousands of personnel. Possibly more.

  3. Eric Rassbach:

    For most religious Americans, faith is not some secretive activity conducted behind closed doors, faith for them means being out in the community serving with and for others, particularly the least among us.

  4. British Deese:

    Its been very secretive and they have an ongoing investigation.

  5. Chris Corbett:

    You're having secretive behavior with kids and you're discussing highly sexualized content that breaches boundaries.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

secretive#10000#40528#100000

Translations for secretive

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for secretive »

Translation

Find a translation for the secretive definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"secretive." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/secretive>.

Discuss these secretive definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for secretive? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    secretive

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    indecision in speech or action
    A elation
    B peccadillo
    C hypernym
    D wavering

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for secretive: