Synonyms of secretly

secretly

adverb

as in privately

in a manner intended to prevent knowledge or awareness by others

the girl secretly told her friends about the birthday party so it would be a surprise to the birthday girl

Synonyms & Similar Words

• privately
• confidentially
• in private
• intimately
• backstage
• in camera
• covertly
• clandestinely
• inwardly
• à deux
• tête-à-tête
• surreptitiously
• furtively
• secretively
• stealthily
• sneakily
• conspiratorially
• collusively
• underhandedly
• sotto voce
• underground
• undercover
• offstage
• offscreen
• underhanded
• underhand

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• publicly
• openly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of secretly

Meanwhile, conservative activists spread rumors last week that Talarico was struggling with his mental health and had secretly retreated to an Ohio hospital. — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026

An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said Tuesday was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company's technology. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026

An OpenAI employee suspected of secretly planting a recording device in one of the company's conference rooms has been arrested on criminal charges, the Justice Department said Tuesday. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

Prosecutors say that a company secretly controlled by Pulido obtained a 2016 government contract to supply 10 million food boxes at $34 each, generating approximately $340 million in revenue. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026

The first episode introduces Pavi (Saheli Khan), a young bender who’s secretly the Avatar and has a pet cat-monkey named Geet. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026

Here, everything feels so exciting, light, and joyful that guests secretly hope this night—like a good novel—will never end. — Leonie Rolinck, Architectural Digest, 9 Oct. 2026

Although presented publicly as civilian technologies, some of the Salyut spacecraft were secretly developed and deployed as reconnaissance platforms equipped with state-of-the-art cameras and other intelligence collection utilities. — Micah Hanks, Space.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Experts said a no-bid consulting contract under a mechanism designed to secretly develop weapons prototypes was extraordinary. — Aaron Davis, ProPublica, 9 Oct. 2026