- 1 known about by only a few people; kept hidden from others secret information/meetings/talks 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 see also top secret Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, remain, stay, … adverbhighly, top, very, … prepositionfrom See full entry
- 2 [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 a secret room Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, remain, stay, … adverbhighly, top, very, … prepositionfrom See full entry
- 3[not usually before noun] 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’.Extra examples They managed to keep the party more or less secret from Christine. a top secret meeting revealing the text of the hitherto secret treaty He’s a secret drinker. I didn’t know you were a secret football fan. Perhaps he has secret hopes that she’ll go back to him. She could not tell him her secret hopes and fears. She told me about her secret fears for the future. The ceasefire was agreed following secret talks between the two leaders. There’s a secret passage leading to the beach. This information has been classified top secret.
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