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
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Recent Examples of secretly
Aemond, horny always for bloodshed, pushes his luck with Alicent, who has to play the role of supportive mommy while secretly yearning for Rhaenyra to accept her offer and free her from her mad sons.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 18 June 2026
Nina is introduced as the seemingly vacuous trophy wife of Nile, a man who secretly murdered his first wife — and Nina’s former boss — Madison (Leila George) in a fit of passion.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
While working up the nerve to kill her, Loftis discovers that Ruth is secretly the mother of his late wife Lauren (Meredith Casey), making his son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) the final descendant.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 June 2026
Later that same evening, the pair secretly tied the knot in a courthouse ceremony without telling friends or family.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
Or perhaps the Black policemen, who often watched the house without their white commanding officer, secretly sympathized with the uprising.
—Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
Thankfully, one of my go-to brands, Quince, secretly launched a vacation shop that’s brimming with breezy finds that make figuring out what to bring immensely easier.
—Ali Faccenda, InStyle, 16 June 2026
The retail giant secretly dropped thousands of early Prime Day deals before the event officially kicks off on June 23.
—Julia Morlino, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2026
Netgear’s counterclaim reiterates long-standing concerns that the Chinese government could secretly use TP-Link to spy on the US.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 18 June 2026
Nina is introduced as the seemingly vacuous trophy wife of Nile, a man who secretly murdered his first wife — and Nina’s former boss — Madison (Leila George) in a fit of passion.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
While working up the nerve to kill her, Loftis discovers that Ruth is secretly the mother of his late wife Lauren (Meredith Casey), making his son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) the final descendant.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 17 June 2026
Later that same evening, the pair secretly tied the knot in a courthouse ceremony without telling friends or family.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
Or perhaps the Black policemen, who often watched the house without their white commanding officer, secretly sympathized with the uprising.
—Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
Thankfully, one of my go-to brands, Quince, secretly launched a vacation shop that’s brimming with breezy finds that make figuring out what to bring immensely easier.
—Ali Faccenda, InStyle, 16 June 2026
The retail giant secretly dropped thousands of early Prime Day deals before the event officially kicks off on June 23.
—Julia Morlino, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2026
Netgear’s counterclaim reiterates long-standing concerns that the Chinese government could secretly use TP-Link to spy on the US.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretly
Adverb
-
Relativity Space plans to launch a Mars orbiter in 2028 as part of a new initiative to privately develop planetary missions, Space News reports.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
19 June 2026
-
In the world of Toy Story, practically every item beloved by children has a secret consciousness; toys privately chat and organize in kids’ bedrooms, always with the goal of helping their owners have fun.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
19 June 2026
Adverb
-
Anthropic and OpenAI have each confidentially submitted IPO paperwork to the SEC, though neither has set a public offering date.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
21 June 2026
-
The company and its chief rival, OpenAI, both confidentially filed their IPO prospectuses recently, setting up potentially historic share sales for investors eager to jump into AI.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secretly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretly. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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