SECRETIVELY Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

secretively

adverb

Definition of secretively

as in furtively

Related Words

Relevance

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 secretively The state, in partnership with the federal government, built the camp quickly and secretively and opened it in July. — Eve Samples, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026 Early modern Europe was not an ideal place to enforce intellectual property rights, which in those days existed only when technologies could be secretively monopolized by a guild. — Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretively

Adverb

Kikuko, her appetite sluggish, nibbled the bread bit by bit from the edges, all the while furtively watching her father.

— Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
It’s meant to blends furtively into a bookshelf or sits elegantly atop a bedside table, never inside it.

— Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of furtively

Adverb

The films are set in modern times, but the character is stealthily nostalgic.

— James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026
Damon can be as crisp an orator as any actor now working, but his performance here reminds you why Jason Bourne, moving stealthily through a crowd like a sheathed dagger, remains one of his defining roles.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 July 2026

Definition of stealthily

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

Adverb

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

Definition of 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

Miners who have worked underground for at least 25 years in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia suffer the worst rates of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease.

— Brittney Melton, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026
The company plans to recover them with solution mining, a process that pumps fluids underground to dissolve minerals before bringing them to the surface for processing.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of underground

Browse Nearby Words

secretive

secretively

secretiveness

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Secretively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretively. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of secretively

adverb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

nurture

Popular in Grammar & Usage

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?

Popular

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes