as in furtively
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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
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
-
At the combine, as executives and scouts furrowed their brows and furtively took notes, Mann and I stood on the concourse, watching team personnel watch prospects work out.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
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Unlike Monday's burial for Princess Irene, which follows a Saturday prayer service in Madrid and a funeral Monday at Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, the Tatoi interment for Sofia's mother, Queen Federica of Greece, was not official, and took place almost furtively.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
18 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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It’s largely escaped detection outside the 617 area code, but NESN has stealthily developed arguably the most homegrown MLB crew on TV, so much so that just about everyone who covers the Sox was brought up within a 150-mile radius of Fenway Park.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
12 June 2026
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The building is stealthily spacious with 40 bedrooms, and there’s a serious Sisley spa, designed with monkish minimalism, plus four superb restaurants.—
Matt Ortile,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
Adverb
-
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
-
Gray-hat hackers, unlike white-hats, surreptitiously sneak into corporate systems to find security vulnerabilities.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
Adverb
-
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,
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
Adverb
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But there was no kissing or tickling last night—no exposition of the artful ways that one can sneakily overtake an opponent through charm or surprise.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
15 June 2026
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So, New York must respond by trying to exploit the areas far in front of Wembanyama and sneakily behind him.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Adverb
-
This great disparity between reality and story, truth and history, takes on new dimensions when Robin clandestinely takes refuge at an island priory where Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer) tends to his wounds.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
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Other examples of politically motivated pirate radio can be found around the world, some of them clandestinely backed by governmental intelligence agencies, but many of them existing as truly grassroots endeavors.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Nearly all Republican River water comes from underground.—
Allen Best,
Denver Post,
14 June 2026
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FPVs and drone bombing have driven Russian forces underground into bunkers and forced them to cover roads and facilities with nets, wire cages and steel mesh.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secretively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretively. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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