- known about by only a few people; kept hidden from others
- secret information/meetings/talks
- They belong to an age-old secret society.
- secret from somebody He tried to keep it secret from his family.
- Details of the proposals remain secret.
- a secret passage leading to the beach
- The two candidates were chosen by a secret ballot (= in which nobody knows how you voted) of MPs.
- He's a natural salesman, whose secret weapon is the sheer confidence and optimism that he exudes.
- The group is on a highly secret mission.
- Secret police documents were leaked to the press.
- The scandal was kept secret from the French public for 18 years.
- What could be so secret that it had to stay hidden?
Extra Examples- The ceasefire was agreed following secret talks between the two leaders.
- revealing the text of the hitherto secret treaty
- They managed to keep the party more or less secret from Christine.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- remain
- stay
- …
- highly
- top
- very
- …
- from
- [only before noun] used to describe actions and behaviour that you do not tell other people about
- He's a secret drinker.
- I didn't know you were a secret football fan.
- her secret fears
- Perhaps he has secret hopes that she'll go back to him.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- remain
- stay
- …
- highly
- top
- very
- …
- from
- secret (about something) (of a person or their behaviour) liking to have secrets that other people do not know about; showing this synonym secretive
- They were so secret about everything.
- Jessica caught a secret smile flitting between the two of them.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, from Latin secretus (adjective) ‘separate, set apart’, from the verb secernere, from se- ‘apart’ + cernere ‘sift’.
Check pronunciation:
secret