COVERTLY Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

covertly

adverb

Definition of covertly

as in clandestinely

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Recent Examples of covertly Israel had captured these portable systems in the October 1973 war with Egypt and Syria and covertly transferred them to the Kurds in return for equivalent American systems. — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 Officials recently unveiled a collection of 130-year-old wine that was covertly hidden beneath a chapel floor in a medieval castle. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 18 July 2026 What has received less attention are the ways that Chinese actors are already exploiting existing AI tools—many of them American—to covertly expand China’s power around the world. — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026 Many liberals had been disciplined to adopt methods that purported to strictly confine legal interpretation, only to discover that their most prominent adherents, whether covertly or unconsciously, had other plans. — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026 Munn has been suggesting Friday Night Lights to her 18-year-old stepdaughter, covertly slipping the show into the teen’s favorites across her streaming apps. — Sierra Leone Starks, Parents, 30 June 2026 Meehan and Sabres player development director Don Luce traveled to Sweden, where Mogilny was competing in a tournament, and covertly ushered him back to North America. — ABC News, 6 June 2026 These word puzzles all covertly reference the years-old disappearance of Charlie, Martha’s brilliant older sister. — The Know, Denver Post, 4 June 2026 Over the decades, there has been no shortage of sites using clever techniques to covertly track visitors’ browsing histories, device fingerprints, and log keystrokes and mouse movements in real time. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for covertly

Adverb

Because Iran is a theocratic dictatorship that routinely arrests and in some cases executes journalists, Western reporters hoping to cover the country must either work clandestinely or submit to government supervision.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026
Soon afterward, social media commenters were speculating about whether Sierra broke into the office or was caught clandestinely shredding documents.

— Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2026

Definition of clandestinely

Adverb

Fro-yo heads will tell you, conspiratorially, that Butterfield Market is rumored to have the same supplier as Forty Carrots, the café tucked away on the seventh floor of Bloomingdale’s which claims to have introduced frozen yogurt to New York City some fifty years ago.

— Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 28 June 2026
That Hanson so could faithfully and conspiratorially convey that in her naturalistic, uncontrived images came from a place of friendship.

— Mark Holgate, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2025

Definition of conspiratorially

Adverb

Two senior health-ministry officials, speaking anonymously, told the magazine that at least 30,000 dead (and possibly many more) was a likelier figure, and one that was corroborated by a group of first responders who collected data surreptitiously.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026
As a group of dancers surrounded her on the B-stage, she was surreptitiously harnessed into a rig that carried her aloft, limp yet belting, into the heavens, or at least into what looked like a UFO hovering over the arena.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 7 June 2026

Definition of surreptitiously

Browse Nearby Words

covert

covertly

covertness

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“Covertly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/covertly. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of covertly

adverb

Example Sentences

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