closeted

adjective clos·et·ed \ ˈklä-zə-təd , ˈklȯ- \

|Updated on: 21 Jul 2018

Definition of closeted

: closet 3

a closeted homosexual

Recent Examples of closeted from the Web

In particular, rumors that Mateen was a closeted gay man and had targeted the club out of self-hatred.

— tim fitzsimons /, NBC News, "What really happened that night at Pulse," 12 June 2018
Five nights and two afternoons a week, one of those Mormons, Joe Pitt, a closeted lawyer working for the infamous fixer Roy Cohn, goes through hell and out the other side to come out as a gay man.

— matthew schneier, New York Times, "Lee Pace Came Out Seven Times a Week. Then He Came Out for Real.," 4 June 2018
But Amazon’s new, three-part series A Very English Scandal tells the absolutely true story of Jeremy Thorpe, an ambitious and closeted British politician in the 1970s who attempted to orchestrate the murder of an unpredictable ex-lover.

— michele corriston, PEOPLE.com, "Hugh Grant Returns to TV as a Gay Politician Who Attempts Murder in A Very English Scandal," 29 June 2018
The movie touches on real-life issues that face athletes in the closeted world of sports.

— david lewis, San Francisco Chronicle, "Frameline offers movie feast during Pride Week," 14 June 2018
Desperate for a better life for himself and Tom, Jack impulsively puts his faith in wealthy new client Ken (Terrance Murphy), a closeted gay businessman with a long-suffering wife (Katie McClellan).

— gary goldstein, latimes.com, "YouTuber Max Emerson's gay hustler drama 'Hooked' lands with a thud," 30 May 2018
It was told from the POV of Alex who, now an adult and helping out in a school, becomes embroiled with one of his pupils, a precocious and closeted teenager called Allen.

— alim kheraj, GQ, "Why TV Needs More Gay Characters," 19 Apr. 2018
Throughout, Uglow patiently traces the contours of a closeted gay man’s life.

— junot díaz, The New Yorker, "The Sense Beneath Edward Lear’s Nonsense," 17 Apr. 2018
With the advent of affordable tape cassettes and car tapedecks, even the most closeted Olivia fans could own the music and be inspired by it while driving to and from work.

— bonnie j. morris, Smithsonian, "How Should We Archive the Soundtrack to 1970s Feminism?," 30 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'closeted.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.