as in privately
in a manner intended to prevent knowledge or awareness by others
the girl secretly told her friends about the birthday party so it would be a surprise to the birthday girl
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Recent Examples of secretly
The lawsuit accused Reina of secretly opening and controlling corporate credit cards and using station funds to pay mortgage and property tax bills on his West Sacramento home.
—
Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
It was secretly screened at the Cannes Film Festival last year and then shown at invite-only screenings in Los Angeles and New York before being picked up by Netflix.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Jan. 2026
Even if Maliki is ultimately dropped, Iran will simply nominate another candidate who is secretly acceptable to Washington.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Amazon’s end-of-January clothing deals are packed with cozy-meets-chic finds that make travel days feel like a win, from bestselling matching sets (yes, including Amazon-favorite Anrabess) to sweaters and trousers that secretly feel like sweatpants.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 29 Jan. 2026
Burton secretly bought the necklace and surprised Taylor with it while celebrating her birthday in Budapest.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 29 Jan. 2026
Jessica Chastain plays Amy, an ICU nurse who discovers that her friend and colleague, Charlie (Eddie Redmayne), has been secretly killing patients.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
The only problem with this whole Hollywood Cinderella story is that Simon is secretly harboring superpowers, a big no-no for the entertainment industry, and Trevor has some ulterior motives in befriending this real-life superhero who wants to play a superhero in a movie.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
Another of my dad’s uncles ended it all by driving into a tree after secretly accruing gambling debt.
—Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
It was secretly screened at the Cannes Film Festival last year and then shown at invite-only screenings in Los Angeles and New York before being picked up by Netflix.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Jan. 2026
Even if Maliki is ultimately dropped, Iran will simply nominate another candidate who is secretly acceptable to Washington.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Amazon’s end-of-January clothing deals are packed with cozy-meets-chic finds that make travel days feel like a win, from bestselling matching sets (yes, including Amazon-favorite Anrabess) to sweaters and trousers that secretly feel like sweatpants.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 29 Jan. 2026
Burton secretly bought the necklace and surprised Taylor with it while celebrating her birthday in Budapest.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 29 Jan. 2026
Jessica Chastain plays Amy, an ICU nurse who discovers that her friend and colleague, Charlie (Eddie Redmayne), has been secretly killing patients.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
The only problem with this whole Hollywood Cinderella story is that Simon is secretly harboring superpowers, a big no-no for the entertainment industry, and Trevor has some ulterior motives in befriending this real-life superhero who wants to play a superhero in a movie.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
Another of my dad’s uncles ended it all by driving into a tree after secretly accruing gambling debt.
—Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretly
Adverb
-
Spencer Pratt says many in Hollywood privately support his criticism of Los Angeles leadership, but fear keeps them silent.—
Danielle Minnetian,
FOXNews.com,
31 Jan. 2026
-
In more recent years, Church Lodge has come to be owned privately.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
30 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Detainees have a constitutional right to speak confidentially with an attorney.—
Claudia Boyd-Barrett,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
In April 2023, SeatGeek filed confidentially for an IPO, and even hired bankers for the offering a year later.—
Luisa Beltran,
Sportico.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secretly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretly. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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