# closeted

Pronunciation: US say "KLAH-zit-id" /ˈklɑzɪtɪd/; UK say "KLO-zit-id" /ˈklɒzɪtɪd/

## Adjective

1. Keeping one's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity hidden from others. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Keeping your sexual or gender identity hidden from other people.
   - _She remained closeted throughout college, telling only her closest friend._
   - _Living closeted for so long took a heavy emotional toll on him._
2. Kept secret rather than openly shown, said of some aspect of one's identity, tendency, or fondness.
   - Simple: Hidden or kept secret, like a hobby or belief you don't tell others about.
   - _Among the faculty he counted several closeted admirers of pulp fiction._
   - _His closeted enthusiasm for astrology surprised everyone when it finally surfaced._
3. Confined, especially within a small or enclosed private space.
   - Simple: Shut up inside a small, closed space, away from everyone else.
   - _The scholar spent the whole winter closeted in his study, surrounded by books._
   - _She remained closeted in her room for days, refusing to come out._
5. Sheltered and protected, kept apart from harsh or worldly experiences.
   - Simple: Kept safe and away from the troubles of the wider world.
   - _Growing up closeted from hardship, she struggled when she first lived on her own._
   - _His closeted upbringing left him unprepared for the rough edges of city life._

## Verb

4. Simple past and past participle of closet. — simple past and past participle of closet
   - Simple: Past tense and past participle of closet. Use it for the past, or after has, have or had.
   - _The king closeted himself with his ministers to settle the crisis._
   - _For weeks she closeted herself in the lab, emerging only for meals._

## Origin

Formed from "closet" in the sense of a state of concealment, combined with the suffix "-ed".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/closeted (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).