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Definition of secretive adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

secretive

adjective
 
/ˈsiːkrətɪv/
 
/ˈsiːkrətɪv/
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  1. secretive (about something) tending or liking to hide your thoughts, feelings, actions, etc. from other people
    • He's very secretive about his work.
    • The child became secretive and withdrawn.
    • his highly secretive nature
    Topics Personal qualitiesc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • become
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    preposition
    • about
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 19th cent.: back-formation from secretiveness, suggested by French secrétivité, from secret ‘secret’.
See secretive in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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