secretively

adverb

Definition of secretivelynext
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
  1. furtively
  2. stealthily
  3. surreptitiously
  4. covertly
  5. sneakily
  6. clandestinely
  7. underground
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
  • ClickFix works by tricking you into performing an action on your computer that stealthily downloads and installs malware.
    — Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The pollution is expected to drift into the Bay Area, stealthily diminishing air quality without the signature campfire smell associated with wildfire smoke, according to Anthony Edwards, the San Francisco Chronicle’s newsroom meteorologist.
    — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of stealthily
Adverb
  • Right now, there are no indications exploits are being used to install anything other than Monero miners, which surreptitiously harness a Mac’s resources to perform mathematical operations that generate the cryptocurrency for the attacker.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • That's not the first time a president surreptitiously switched planes.
    — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of surreptitiously
Adverb
  • Also quite useful while breaking down cardboard boxes and covertly tossing kid art projects.
    — Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 7 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of covertly
Adverb
  • Flitting between deadpan sorrow and impassioned romance, Bridgers’ album is alternately spooky, hilarious, mysterious and sneakily moving.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Thorbjornsen's name has been penciled in, although he's been sneakily fantastic in his short PGA Tour career.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of sneakily
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
  • Neutral-atom quantum computing firm Infleqtion plans to test a quantum sensing system in Colorado in 2027 that could help locate critical mineral deposits underground before exploration companies spend heavily on drilling.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026
  • At the Iga-Barrière site, the search for gold takes miners beneath the earth through shafts that can extend dozens of meters (yards) underground.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of underground

Browse Nearby Words

secretive
secretively
secretiveness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Secretively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretively. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of divulge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All