top secret

adjective

Definition of top secretnext
as in confidential
kept completely hidden from the public by high government officials top secret documents The mission is top secret.

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 top secret Hugo is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes to arrange for Daniel’s theft of the top secret materials. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 June 2026 The indictment claims that the entries included sensitive information up to the top secret and sensitive compartmented information level, a designation that means it was derived from sensitive intelligence sources. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 4 June 2026 Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks kept Mickey Mouse top secret after a studio fallout had recently left Disney without the rights to his earlier creations. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May 2026 Taylor, along with Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel and the rest of the events team, spends practically all of April in a conference room at the Vogue office, going over the seating chart, which lives on a large poster board that is kept top secret. — Madeleine Luckel, Vogue, 2 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for top secret
Recent Examples of Synonyms for top secret
  1. confidential
  2. restricted
  3. personal
  4. classified
  5. private
  6. esoteric
Adjective
  • Imagine if legal issues, confidential complaints, private stakeholders and so on were mentioned or included.
    — Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The plane had transported the ammunition from France to Germany and was due for onward travel, according to a report from Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR and WDR, citing a confidential police report.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of confidential
Adjective
  • My grandparents have found that compression socks help relieve some of the discomfort and swelling that comes from prolonged restricted movement by stimulating circulation in your legs.
    — Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The committee would give recommendations for the restricted funds accounts, and any action would need to be approved by the board or the congregation.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of restricted
Adjective
  • The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act means the court cannot order Meta to request children to submit personal data or be passively tracked online, even for age verification purposes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Some travel essentials are simply non-negotiable, from a blackout eye mask for sleeping on the plane to a personal safety alarm for peace of mind.
    — Hayley Domin, Travel + Leisure, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of personal
Adjective
  • Many of the technologies that underpin modern military operations can trace their origins back to these classified programs.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The Department of Defense has signed standard operational agreements tapping major providers—including Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Oracle, and Nvidia—to deploy their frontier AI tools onto classified military networks.
    — Alex Capri, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of classified
Adjective
  • Four months later, my mom began a private battle against death when she was diagnosed with polio.
    — Dr. Marianne Parshley, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Local media said a private dispute may have been the cause but the police chief declined to comment.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of private
Adjective
  • The emphasis on narrative isn’t an esoteric brand aspiration, but a measurable marketing move.
    — Rekha Thomas, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Of course, Yamagata is a long way to go just to peep some jellyfish, so combine a visit with the misty temples of nearby Dewa Sanzan, three mountains sacred to the ascetics of the esoteric Shugendo religion.
    — Jessica Kozuka, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of esoteric

Browse Nearby Words

tops
top secret
top-shelf
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Top secret.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/top%20secret. Accessed 12 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 gnomic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups
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
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All