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
As the unloved surviving son of a cruel father, he was approached by a wizard who offered him gold to secretly feed a mysterious hedgehog-faced monster in a cave.
—
Scott Meslow, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
This malware secretly collects usernames, passwords and website logins from infected devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Matt and Ross Duffer, the series creators, confirm to Entertainment Weekly that plans have secretly been in the works for months.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Pic follows the young protégé of a legendary crime boss, secretly an undercover cop, who is executed before revealing a file that exposes the city’s entire web of corruption.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
According to Sparks, Mandel is secretly an avid gamer and was interested in talking about the Global Gaming League — T-Pain, Ne-Yo, Sparks’ and Jeff Hoffmann’s new e-sports community.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 29 Oct. 2025
But let’s be honest—no one wins when the family feuds (word to JAY Z) or when everyone’s secretly stressing about money.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 28 Oct. 2025
The 41-year-old Rochester Hills doctor admitted to molesting a child while recording himself doing so, and to secretly recording children and adults in places like hospital rooms and bedrooms.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Strong had secretly asked the sound mixer and prop department to prepare a cassette with the song on it and have the boom box in the room.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2025
Scott Meslow, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
This malware secretly collects usernames, passwords and website logins from infected devices.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Matt and Ross Duffer, the series creators, confirm to Entertainment Weekly that plans have secretly been in the works for months.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Pic follows the young protégé of a legendary crime boss, secretly an undercover cop, who is executed before revealing a file that exposes the city’s entire web of corruption.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
According to Sparks, Mandel is secretly an avid gamer and was interested in talking about the Global Gaming League — T-Pain, Ne-Yo, Sparks’ and Jeff Hoffmann’s new e-sports community.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 29 Oct. 2025
But let’s be honest—no one wins when the family feuds (word to JAY Z) or when everyone’s secretly stressing about money.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 28 Oct. 2025
The 41-year-old Rochester Hills doctor admitted to molesting a child while recording himself doing so, and to secretly recording children and adults in places like hospital rooms and bedrooms.
—Tresa Baldas, Freep.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Strong had secretly asked the sound mixer and prop department to prepare a cassette with the song on it and have the boom box in the room.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretly
Adverb
-
Although not publicly traded, OpenAI’s long list of institutional backers have privately held shares in the startup.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The work has since been performed numerous times around the world, publicly and privately.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
3 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
The two sides settled confidentially last year and Joyride emerged from bankruptcy.—
Justin Wingerter,
Denver Post,
16 Oct. 2025
-
So these cases are almost always settled confidentially.—
Stayton Bonner,
Robb Report,
24 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Secretly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretly. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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