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
Norman Osborn secretly kept a piece of the symbiote to experiment on.
—
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
While the two were discussing the deal, Niroula secretly let Bustamante and McCarthy into the house.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
And fans of medieval fantasy worlds in general can see shades of the Arthurian legends here in the fact that Egg is secretly a prince.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
The 45-year-old actor has always projected a sort of likable, hunky lunkhead persona, giving the movies their equivalent of the campus jock that secretly had a sly sense of self-deprecating humor and theater-department chops.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
But Alex secretly being a mother wasn’t the only jaw-dropping moment the finale had to offer.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Oct. 2025
Forget goblins and ghouls—being secretly watched and filmed by a stranger is one of my worst fears, especially as a solo female traveler.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Trump had secretly signed a Pentagon directive to use military force against some Latin American drug cartels, The New York Times reported in August, weeks before the first strike.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Nkrumah and Lumumba had once agreed, secretly, to form a Ghana-Congo federation.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
While the two were discussing the deal, Niroula secretly let Bustamante and McCarthy into the house.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
And fans of medieval fantasy worlds in general can see shades of the Arthurian legends here in the fact that Egg is secretly a prince.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
The 45-year-old actor has always projected a sort of likable, hunky lunkhead persona, giving the movies their equivalent of the campus jock that secretly had a sly sense of self-deprecating humor and theater-department chops.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025
But Alex secretly being a mother wasn’t the only jaw-dropping moment the finale had to offer.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Oct. 2025
Forget goblins and ghouls—being secretly watched and filmed by a stranger is one of my worst fears, especially as a solo female traveler.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Trump had secretly signed a Pentagon directive to use military force against some Latin American drug cartels, The New York Times reported in August, weeks before the first strike.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Nkrumah and Lumumba had once agreed, secretly, to form a Ghana-Congo federation.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretly
Adverb
-
Brown expressed frustrations publicly that both receivers felt privately.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
In addition to its turnkey accommodations, the residence sits minutes away from Wings Field for those who fly privately.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
6 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
So these cases are almost always settled confidentially.—
Stayton Bonner,
Robb Report,
24 Aug. 2025
-
Tips can be made to the Arson Watch Reward Program confidentially and anonymously, fire officials said.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Secretly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretly. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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