secretive

adjective

se·​cre·​tive ˈsē-krə-tiv How to pronounce secretive (audio)
si-ˈkrē-
: disposed to secrecy : not open or outgoing in speech, activity, or purposes
secretively adverb
secretiveness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for secretive

silent, taciturn, reticent, reserved, secretive mean showing restraint in speaking.

silent implies a habit of saying no more than is needed.

the strong, silent type

taciturn implies a temperamental disinclination to speech and usually connotes unsociability.

taciturn villagers

reticent implies a reluctance to speak out or at length, especially about one's own affairs.

was reticent about his plans

reserved implies reticence and suggests the restraining influence of caution or formality in checking easy informal conversational exchange.

greetings were brief, formal, and reserved

secretive, too, implies reticence but usually carries a suggestion of deviousness and lack of frankness or of an often ostentatious will to conceal.

the secretive research and development division

Examples of secretive in a Sentence

He's very secretive about his work. the intelligence agency remained secretive despite the media's demands for more openness in government
Recent Examples on the Web In this week’s edition*: • A secretive organization’s questionable practices. Longreads, 22 Mar. 2024 Monitoring the activities of foreign diplomats, officials and spies is the jurisdiction of federal agencies working in the secretive realm of counterintelligence. Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024 The company likely balked at sharing data with Apple, which was working on its own secretive car project for over a decade. Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2024 The secretive panel reviews the effect transactions may have on national security. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024 Walt Disney Imagineering, the company’s secretive arm devoted to theme park experiences, likes to say that there are more than 100 job classifications among its ranks. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Colorful characters such as fairies, elves, pixies and the whimsical Japanese raccoon dog have evolved to explain the secretive and magical realm where mushrooms are found. Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024 On Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthis’ secretive supreme leader, said the rebels will start hitting ships heading toward the Cape of Good Hope in Africa's southern tip. Jon Gambrell, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 In fact, Apple barely ever mentioned the secretive project despite laboring on it for nearly a decade. Wes Davis, The Verge, 3 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'secretive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from secretiveness, partial translation of French secrétivité

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of secretive was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near secretive

Cite this Entry

“Secretive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secretive. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

secretive

adjective
se·​cre·​tive ˈsē-krət-iv How to pronounce secretive (audio)
si-ˈkrēt-
: having a tendency toward secrecy and concealment : not frank or open
secretively adverb
secretiveness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on secretive

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