If you guessed that the secret to the origins of secrete is the word secret, you are correct. Secrete developed in the mid-18th century as an alteration of a now obsolete verb secret. That verb had the meaning now carried by secrete and derived from the familiar noun secret ("something kept hidden or unexplained"). The noun, in turn, traces back to the Latin secretus, the past participle of the verb secernere, meaning "to separate" or "to distinguish." Incidentally, there is an earlier and distinct verb secrete with the more scientific meaning "to form and give off (a secretion)." That secrete is a back-formation from secretion, another word that can be traced back to secernere.
conceal usually does imply intent and often specifically implies a refusal to divulge.
concealed the weapon
screen implies an interposing of something that prevents discovery.
a house screened by trees
secrete suggests a depositing in a place unknown to others.
secreted the amulet inside his shirt
bury implies covering up so as to hide completely.
buried the treasure
Examples of secrete in a Sentence
Verb (2)
the police found the weapon secreted under the driver's seat of the getaway car
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Verb
These newest findings on its effects related to amyloid deposits identified a protein called CagA — secreted by most strains of human H. pylori — as the key component.—F.d. Flam, Twin Cities, 2 July 2025 Researchers have long known that plants secrete a natural chemical called isoprene, but exactly why and how plants did this was sort of an enigma.—Jay Kakade
june 30, New Atlas, 30 June 2025 Melatonin Melatonin is a hormone secreted primarily by the pineal gland (located deep in the brain).—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 23 June 2025 The worms don't bite but do secrete a poisonous chemical that may cause skin irritation.—Greta Cross, USA Today, 14 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for secrete
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