secret

The definition of a secret is something kept from public knowledge or the knowledge of a specific person.

(noun)

  1. An example of a secret is a hidden door leading to an unknown room.
  2. An example of a secret is a surprise birthday party.

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See secret in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

  1. kept from public knowledge or from the knowledge of a certain person or persons
  2. withdrawn, remote, or secluded: a secret hideaway
  3. keeping one's affairs to oneself; secretive
  4. beyond general knowledge or understanding; mysterious or esoteric
  5. concealed from sight or notice; hidden: a secret drawer
  6. acting in secret: a secret society

Origin: OFr < L secretus, pp. of secernere, to set apart < se-, apart (see secede) + cernere, to sift, distinguish: see harvest

noun

  1. something known only to a certain person or persons and purposely kept from the knowledge of others
  2. something not revealed, understood, or explained; mystery: the secret of Stonehenge
  3. the true cause or explanation, regarded as not obvious: the secret of one's success
  4. a prayer said just before the Preface of the Mass

Related Forms:

See secret in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective
  1. Kept hidden from knowledge or view; concealed.
  2. Dependably discreet.
  3. Operating in a hidden or confidential manner: a secret agent.
  4. Not expressed; inward: their secret thoughts.
  5. Not frequented; secluded: wandered about the secret byways of Paris.
  6. Known or shared only by the initiated: secret rites.
  7. Beyond ordinary understanding; mysterious.
  8. Containing information, the unauthorized disclosure of which poses a grave threat to national security.
noun
  1. Something kept hidden from others or known only to oneself or to a few.
  2. Something that remains beyond understanding or explanation; a mystery.
  3. A method or formula on which success is based: The secret of this dish is in the sauce.
  4. Secret A variable prayer said after the Offertory and before the Preface in the Mass.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin sēcrētus

Origin: , from past participle of sēcernere, to set aside

Origin: : sē-, apart; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots

Origin: + cernere, to separate; see krei- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • seˈcret·ly adverb

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