secret

adj 1: not open or public; kept private or not revealed; "a secret

formula"; "secret ingredients"; "secret talks"

2: conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods;

"clandestine intelligence operations"; "cloak-and-dagger

activities behind enemy lines"; "hole-and-corner

intrigue"; "secret missions"; "a secret agent"; "secret

sales of arms"; "surreptitious mobilization of troops";

"an undercover investigation"; "underground resistance"

[syn: {clandestine}, {cloak-and-dagger}, {hole-and-corner(a)},

{hugger-mugger}, {hush-hush}, {on the quiet(p)}, {surreptitious},

{undercover}, {underground}]

3: not openly made known; "a secret marriage"; "a secret bride"

[syn: {unavowed}]

4: communicated covertly; "their a secret signal was a wink";

"secret messages"

5: not expressed; "secret (or private) thoughts" [syn: {private}]

6: designed to elude detection; "a hidden room or place of

concealment such as a priest hole"; "a secret passage";

"the secret compartment in the desk" [syn: {hidden}]

7: hidden from general view or use; "a privy place to rest and

think"; "a secluded romantic spot"; "a secret garden"

[syn: {privy}, {secluded}]

8: (of information) given in confidence or in secret; "closet

information"; "this arrangement must be kept

confidential"; "their secret communications" [syn: {closet(a)},

{confidential}]

9: indulging only covertly; "a closet alcoholic"; "closet

liberals" [syn: {closet(a)}]

10: having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to

the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding;

"mysterious symbols"; "the mystical style of Blake";

"occult lore"; "the secret learning of the ancients"

[syn: {mysterious}, {mystic}, {mystical}, {occult}]

11: the next to highest level of official classification for

documents

n 1: something that should remain hidden from others (especially

information that is not to be passed on); "the

combination to the safe was a secret"; "he tried to keep

his drinking a secret"

2: information known only to a special group; "the secret of

Cajun cooking" [syn: {arcanum}]

3: something that baffles understanding and cannot be

explained; "how it got out is a mystery"; "it remains one

of nature's secrets" [syn: {mystery}, {enigma}, {closed

book}]