Meaning

(countable) A piece of knowledge that is hidden and intended to be kept hidden..

Definitions by Sense

1. (countable) A piece of knowledge that is hidden and intended to be kept hidden.
2. The key or principle by which something is made clear; the knack.
3. Something not understood or known.
4. (uncountable) Private seclusion.
5. (archaic, in the plural) The genital organs.
6. (historical) A form of steel skullcap.
7. (Christianity, often in the plural) Any prayer spoken inaudibly and not aloud; especially, one of the prayers in the Tridentine Mass, immediately following the "orate, fratres", said inaudibly by the celebrant.
8. (transitive, rare) To make or keep secret.

Example Sentences

"Can you keep a secret?" "Yes." "So can I."

To tell our own secrets is generally folly, but that folly is without guilt; to communicate those with which we are intrusted is always treachery

Well, mistress, I am sorry this is a matter I cannot aid you in—it goes against my conscience, and it is an affair above my condition, and beyond my management;—but I will keep your secret.

Barla Von: Most people think I deal in finances, but my real currency is knowledge. I trade information and it has made me very wealthy. Barla Von: But the Shadow Broker is the true master. Every day, he buys and sells secrets that could topple governments, always giving them to the highest bidder.

Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.

The storage of cryptographic secrets is one of the paramount requirements in building trustworthy systems.

The secret to a long-lasting marriage is compromise.

Thou knewſt by name, and all th' ethereal powers, / All ſecrets of the deep, all Natures works,

Word Forms

• secrets
• secreting
• secretting
• secreted
• secretted
• more secret
• most secret
• secrette
• secrete
• secreat

Synonyms for secret

Antonyms for secret

Related Words

When Should You Use Secret?

Use secret when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions