OFF-THE-BOOKS Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

off-the-books

adjective

Definition of off-the-books

as in off-the-record

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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 off-the-books Another has an off-the-books wager against OpenAI, which is privately held. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026 In 1985, Marty McFly (played by Lucas Hallauer) is a skateboarding high schooler who is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time machine — ensconced in a DeLorean sports car — by nutty off-the-books scientist Doc Brown (David Josefsberg). — Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2026 Helen sends him on an off-the-books job to the London Mother House to use his mind-probing powers on Jasper (William Fichtner), a powerful vampire with a personal vendetta against the Talamasca. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2025 Helen wants him for an off-the-books quest to find a possibly mythical object called the Seven Five Two, and an even more off-the-books quest to find answers about a formative childhood trauma involving the Talamasca. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for off-the-books

Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-the-books

Adjective

Dialog has been described as Bilderberg (an off-the-record gathering of political and business elite) meets Silicon Valley salon.

— Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
As late as last week, Weiss was still expected to speak at The Seminar, an off-the-record gathering of PR professionals in Scottsdale, Arizona.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 8 June 2026

Definition of off-the-record

Adjective

Attorney Cynthia Jennings, who spoke at a press conference called several days after the police were at the treasurer’s office, had condemned social media speculation about Sierra’s action and the claims of clandestine shredding of documents.

— Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 17 July 2026
That the actual, original Antifa formed in clandestine resistance to Nazi terror during the early 1930s appears lost amid the rhetorical vagaries of political propaganda.

— Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of clandestine

Adjective

Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, was one of three U.S. officials to participate in a closed-door meeting with the Russian delegation on Friday in Alaska.

— Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 20 Aug. 2025
The revelation was made by House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) after Barr testified in a closed-door interview during the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of Epstein’s case.

— Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2025

Definition of closed-door

Adjective

New York is banning smart glasses in courts across the state, pointing to the threat of surreptitious video recordings.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 July 2026
These cybercriminals are like the Hollywood movie character Jason Bourne, a highly surreptitious operative who avoids detection through diversion, disguises, deflecting and blending into the environment.

— Eric Herzog, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026

Definition of surreptitious

Adjective

The complaint was the result of a months-long investigation in which undercover operators posed as prospective tenants and recorded phone calls with Greystar employees to test their compliance with the law.

— Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
The Chicago Police Department also carries out undercover stings at small massage parlors after the city receives complaints of vice activity.

— Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026

Definition of undercover

Adjective

In July 1971, Henry Kissinger, then national security adviser to President Richard Nixon, arrived in Beijing on his famous secret mission — the back-channel visit that helped re-open the door between two countries that had little direct contact for more than two decades.

— Xianda Huang, The Conversation, 16 May 2026
The messiness of a 13-year scientific undertaking, the back-channel negotiations, the philosophical disagreements, the institutional maneuvering — none of that fits neatly into an obituary.

— Zachary Utz, STAT, 15 May 2026

Definition of back-channel

Adjective

These functions can be critical in various applications and scenarios, such as inspections, covert surveillance, search-and-rescue operations, disaster monitoring, and agricultural pest tracking.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 18 July 2026
Although, with words like emergency and bunker—the skeptics have made routine election work seem like a covert-ops thriller.

— Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026

Definition of covert

Adjective

Gabriella paid off most of his entourage to leave him and the band alone and is now basically his own private Joe Jackson, pressuring him to record nonstop.

— Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 6 July 2026
The Castro family has been linked, through GAESA chiefly, to a lucrative world of hotels, banks, retail monopolies, foreign-currency businesses, foreign private compounds and offshore accounts.

— Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026

Definition of private

Browse Nearby Words

off the bat

off-the-books

off-the-cuff

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Style

“Off-the-books.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-the-books. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of off-the-books

adjective

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