DictionaryAI

secret

SEE-krit/ˈsiː.kɹɪt/

Noun pluralsecrets

12 meanings of secret

Practice

  1. 1
    known to fewadjective
    Kept hidden from others; not meant to be known, seen, or shared.

    The committee held secret negotiations away from the press.

    He kept his diagnosis secret from his colleagues for months.

    UsageYou keep something secret from someone. Top secret means strictly confidential.

    Similarconfidential, private, hidden, covert, clandestine

    Oppositepublic, open, known, overt

    Note

    The King James Bible of 1611 sets it against revealed: "the secret things belong unto the Lord our God."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
    • Deuteronomy 29:29 contains the quoted words and contrasts secret things with revealed things. en.wikisource.org
  2. 2
    kept knowledgenouncountable
    A piece of knowledge that is hidden and meant to be kept from others.

    The journalist refused to reveal the secret behind the leaked documents.

    Some secrets are too heavy to carry alone.

    UsageYou keep a secret, tell someone a secret, or let someone in on a secret.

    Similarconfidence

    Note

    Samuel Johnson drew the moral line in The Rambler in 1750. Telling your own secrets is folly, but passing on those you were entrusted with is treachery.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Samuel Johnson discussed the distinction in The Rambler in 1750, specifically No. 13, dated May 1. en.wikisource.org
    • The description accurately paraphrases Johnson’s distinction between disclosing one's own secrets and betraying entrusted secrets. en.wikisource.org
  3. 3
    key to successnouncountable or uncountable
    The key principle or knack that explains how something is done well.

    Patience is the secret of a long and happy marriage.

    Great chefs carefully guard the secret of their finest sauces.

    UsageThe secret of or the secret to something: the secret to good bread.

    Similarkey, recipe, formula, trick, knack

  4. 4
    not yet understoodnouncountable or uncountable
    Something that is not understood or known.

    Researchers continue to probe the secrets of the human brain.

    Each new telescope uncovers another secret of the distant universe.

    Similarmystery, enigma, riddle

    Note

    Here nobody is keeping the secret. The thing is simply beyond what anyone yet knows. It favors the plural with of and a vast subject, as in Milton's "all secrets of the deep, all Nature's works" in Paradise Lost (1667). Unlike a hidden confidence, a secret of this kind is uncovered or probed rather than told or betrayed.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. christs.cam.ac.uk
    • The quoted words occur in Paradise Lost; the note modernizes capitalization and possessive punctuation. The character speaking is the angel Michael. gutenberg.org
  5. 5
    in privatenoununcountable
    Private seclusion, the condition of being withdrawn from other people and out of their sight.

    The novelist wrote in secret for years, at an attic desk that no one else in the house ever used.

    Some grief is best borne in secret, away from even the kindest friends.

    UsageMostly in the phrase in secret, with no article.

    Similarsecrecy, private, privacy, seclusion

    Oppositepublic

    Note

    Today it lives mostly in the phrase in secret, which hovers between privacy and concealment. "The work was done in secret, so that nobody could object" leans toward concealment, because others are kept from knowing. When a sentence dwells on solitude, such as writing or grieving alone, the private side comes forward.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The phrase in secret can express concealment or privacy. en.wiktionary.org
    • The example sentence is attested with exactly this wording; no speaker or author is attributed. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of secret apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 2–7

The noun goes back to Latin sēcrētum, which reached English as Middle English secret and replaced the Old English word dēagolnes ("a secret"). Secretum is a doublet, and the verb is a later formation from the noun.

Meanings 1, 8–10

Latin cernō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *krey-. From cernō came sēcernō ("to separate, set aside"), whose past participle sēcrētus meant "separated, hidden." This passed through Old French secret into Middle English as secrette, replacing the Old English word dēagol ("secret").