as in housed
to close or shut in by or as if by barriers
he closeted himself in his study, vowing not to emerge until he had finished the term paper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in hidden
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of closeted
Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Sep. 2025
Hawke portrays Rodgers’ former collaborator, lyricist Lorenz Hart, an alcoholic and marginally closeted raconteur grappling with the fact that Rodgers’ biggest success now belongs to a new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein.
—Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Or perhaps the speaker could recognize that a cousin at the table may be closeted, and take it upon themselves to model how to push back against transphobia.
—Lee Bebout, The Conversation, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for closeted
Verb
Chris Carmack costarred on Nashville as Will Lexington, a closeted country star coming to terms with his sexuality.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Sep. 2025
Hawke portrays Rodgers’ former collaborator, lyricist Lorenz Hart, an alcoholic and marginally closeted raconteur grappling with the fact that Rodgers’ biggest success now belongs to a new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein.
—Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Dale, who was closeted at the time of his death, leaves behind notes stashed inside his treasured first-edition books hinting that his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) may have had something to do with his ostensible suicide.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Or perhaps the speaker could recognize that a cousin at the table may be closeted, and take it upon themselves to model how to push back against transphobia.
—Lee Bebout, The Conversation, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for closeted
Recent Examples of Synonyms for closeted
Verb
-
Before being put on death watch, which begins seven days before execution, Djerf was at the Rincon Unit in Tucson, where all men on death row are housed.—
Elena Santa Cruz,
AZCentral.com,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Departing Paris on May 4, 2026, the new three-night route will bring guests south through France and into Italy with a stop in Pompeii before continuing to Ravello for a stay at Belmond’s Caruso, a luxury hotel housed in a former 11th-century palazzo in Ravello.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Over three hours, small groups navigate a challenging underground world, scrambling over boulders, belly-crawling through narrow passages, and squeezing through tight spaces to discover hidden marble wonders.—
Heide Brandes,
AFAR Media,
15 Oct. 2025
-
In other words, the hidden asset is knowledge itself—the connective tissue linking people, data and decisions.—
Adam Mills,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Humilde envisioned this as a celebration of Mexican-American culture, not confined to any traditional genre or region.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The first part of the ceasefire was confined to the release of living hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and flowing in of aid.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
My book is a novel about memory, about a character whose repressed memories of childhood are gradually returning for better or for worse.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Though beloved by many straight men for the wrong reasons, the central character in American Psycho — a movie directed by a woman, written by a woman, and based on a novel written by a gay man — has always been paradigmatic of repressed same-sex desire.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Like most spaces in the attractive abode, the bedrooms spill out to the park-like grounds, which are showcased by a 55-foot-by-21-foot pool surrounded by a grassy lawn and sundeck, along with a separate spa and a marble fire pit.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The car driving him was surrounded by dozens of police motorbikes and vehicles, making its way to La Santé Prison in southern Paris.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Flueger, who has portrayed Adam Ruzek since the series premiered in 2014, is taking the time to deal with a personal matter and plans to return later this season, Entertainment Weekly has learned.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
-
The airport has put out green donation bins accepting nonperishable food and personal care items for unpaid federal airport workers, according to a social media post from Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.—
Francesca Pica,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
There is nothing better on a chilly evening than creamy chicken and vegetables encased in a buttery, extra flaky crust.—
Nellah Bailey McGough,
Southern Living,
13 Oct. 2025
-
And yet, welcoming that idea can shock the system because our popular conception of the American Revolution is so often encased in bloodless, gallant myth.—
Sarah Botstein,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The press release said it’s not known how the bear got into the zoo, which is enclosed by a fence.—
Bay Area News Group,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
-
The new experiment will be enclosed under a kilometer of rock in the Stawell Gold Mine, located in regional Victoria, Australia.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Closeted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/closeted. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share