as in undercover
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others
I took a clandestine peek at the price tag on the diamond necklace
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Recent Examples of clandestine
The position of chief judge, currently held by Timothy Evans, will instead be determined by an election held behind closed doors during a clandestine voting process in which fellow judges cast their secret ballots.
—
Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
The second North Korean nuclear crisis broke out in October 2002, when the United States accused Pyongyang of operating a clandestine uranium-enrichment program that violated the 1994 Agreed Framework.
—Shuxian Luo, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2025
But local leaders had no doubt about the perpetrators, even though the state’s campaign had previously been carried out through public exhortations and directives, not clandestine repaintings.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2025
The mayor of New Orleans has been indicted on charges stemming from an alleged scheme to use over $70,000 of city funds to keep up a clandestine relationship with a bodyguard, new court filings show.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clandestine
Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
The second North Korean nuclear crisis broke out in October 2002, when the United States accused Pyongyang of operating a clandestine uranium-enrichment program that violated the 1994 Agreed Framework.
—Shuxian Luo, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2025
But local leaders had no doubt about the perpetrators, even though the state’s campaign had previously been carried out through public exhortations and directives, not clandestine repaintings.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2025
The mayor of New Orleans has been indicted on charges stemming from an alleged scheme to use over $70,000 of city funds to keep up a clandestine relationship with a bodyguard, new court filings show.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clandestine
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clandestine
Adjective
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Cameron Crowe researched what would become his debut script by going undercover as a high school student for a full year in what can only be described as a 21 Jump Street stunt.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
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Further, this legislation is unnecessary if it is truly intended to apply to undercover officers.—
Charles Champion,
Oc Register,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Moreover, the lobster boat and the Mako were covert FBI assets carefully disguised as legitimate smuggling vessels.—
Martin Suarez,
Rolling Stone,
13 Sep. 2025
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If compromised, malicious radios inside them could be used for simultaneous outages or covert data collection, the FHWA warned.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Billie Eilish’s unplugged Live at Third Man Records, back in 2019, was a limited-edition vinyl release, which instantly designated it an underground item.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
13 Sep. 2025
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The film was an underground sensation, an endurance test for morbidly curious teens.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song And the internet has receipts.—
Mehera Bonner,
Marie Claire,
15 Mar. 2017
Adjective
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The executives were able to meet with Pope Leo in a private audience that included others, according to a person familiar with the matter.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
12 Sep. 2025
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This is the web version of Term Sheet, a daily newsletter on the biggest deals and dealmakers in venture capital and private equity.—
Allie Garfinkle,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The notion of a man of Ballmer’s wealth — $153 billion; most in professional sports and top 10 on the planet — being able to procure and retain elite talent through surreptitious ways is the worst nightmare for fans of the league’s other 29 teams.—
Sam Amick,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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When one fan posted a surreptitious photo of Sudeikis and Hunt hanging out at a bar, commenters warned them to not share the location.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clandestine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clandestine. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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