as in furtively
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Recent Examples of secretively
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
Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretively
Adverb
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This has become the central theme of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—probably the most chaotic show in its franchise—whose characters are always trying to root out which of their frenemies is furtively digging up dirt and spreading rumors about their legal or financial woes.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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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
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The strategic insights that matter most—how to respond to a competitive threat, whether an acquisition makes sense, how to restructure around AI, and which leadership gaps are stealthily costing the company—are only partly products of rigorous thinking.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Adverb
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Fox said the exchange between him and Wasser when he was called back to the restaurant took about 10-12 seconds, but defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo suggested on Monday that the pair may have surreptitiously searched the backpack at that time and found the gun — or potentially planted it.—
Ben Brachfeld,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
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In a way, I am being surreptitiously employed by the owner for two minutes.—
Francesco Pacifico,
The Dial,
9 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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These word puzzles all covertly reference the years-old disappearance of Charlie, Martha’s brilliant older sister.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
4 June 2026
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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
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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In the middle of the game, Sol and Jen sneakily approached the boys and kissed each of them, marking them with red paint.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
Adverb
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The audio recordings, shared by outlets including VSquare, Frontstory, Delfi Estonia, the Insider, and the Investigative Centre of Jan Kuciak, seem to have been clandestinely gathered.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Apr. 2026
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Many of them, like Lavrov, had to leave clandestinely because getting out with Russian permission is nearly impossible.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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Some, stationed underground, underwater, or on bomber airfields, stand ready to fulfill orders with apocalyptic consequences.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
11 June 2026
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The first phase includes grading the site, building roadways around the property, constructing ball fields and relocating existing overhead power lines underground, the latter of which has already been completed in a contract with Idaho Power.—
Noah Daly,
Idaho Statesman,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secretively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretively. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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