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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 secretly
Best Amazon Memorial Day Pants and Jeans Sales Amazon secretly has one of the most underrated selection of bottoms online—many of which are marked down right now.
—
Annie Blackman, InStyle, 23 May 2026
Garrett Graham Fiercely protective with a secretly soft interior, Garrett is the ultimate Water sign fantasy because there’s so much underneath his reputation as a confident athlete.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 21 May 2026
One of those agents, Juan Pablo Roque, a former Cuban military officer who had infiltrated exile groups in Miami while secretly working for Havana, abruptly left the United States days before the shoot-down and returned to Cuba.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 20 May 2026
Both accuse each other of being secretly liberal or not MAGA enough.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 19 May 2026
Will, who had access to his mother’s Facebook account to read supportive messages from followers, secretly recorded and posted his own video plea.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026
Saab secretly met with the Drug Enforcement Administration before his first arrest and, in a closed-door court hearing in 2022, his lawyers revealed that the businessman for years had helped the DEA untangle corruption in Maduro’s inner circle.
—Joshua Goodman, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Luckily, On Running’s cloud-like sneakers are secretly marked down to kick off summer, including some of the brand’s most popular styles like the Cloud 6 and Cloudmonster for up to 43 percent off at retailers like Zappos, Amazon, REI, and more.
—Julia Morlino, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2026
The fantasy drama follows 10-year-old Bernardo, who after his father’s death, clings fiercely to his mother while secretly caring for an injured baby goat deep in the rainforest.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 15 May 2026
Annie Blackman, InStyle, 23 May 2026
Garrett Graham Fiercely protective with a secretly soft interior, Garrett is the ultimate Water sign fantasy because there’s so much underneath his reputation as a confident athlete.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 21 May 2026
One of those agents, Juan Pablo Roque, a former Cuban military officer who had infiltrated exile groups in Miami while secretly working for Havana, abruptly left the United States days before the shoot-down and returned to Cuba.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 20 May 2026
Both accuse each other of being secretly liberal or not MAGA enough.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 19 May 2026
Will, who had access to his mother’s Facebook account to read supportive messages from followers, secretly recorded and posted his own video plea.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026
Saab secretly met with the Drug Enforcement Administration before his first arrest and, in a closed-door court hearing in 2022, his lawyers revealed that the businessman for years had helped the DEA untangle corruption in Maduro’s inner circle.
—Joshua Goodman, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Luckily, On Running’s cloud-like sneakers are secretly marked down to kick off summer, including some of the brand’s most popular styles like the Cloud 6 and Cloudmonster for up to 43 percent off at retailers like Zappos, Amazon, REI, and more.
—Julia Morlino, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2026
The fantasy drama follows 10-year-old Bernardo, who after his father’s death, clings fiercely to his mother while secretly caring for an injured baby goat deep in the rainforest.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretly
Adverb
-
His sister took four days to respond, privately, with two sentences.—
Weike Wang,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
Meanwhile, Hester has been privately dealing with mental lapses and throbbing headaches, refraining from telling her family about the medical tests her doctor ordered.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Adverb
-
SpaceX has filed confidentially to go public and is seeking to raise as much as $75 billion at a valuation of more than $2 trillion, Bloomberg News has reported, which would be the largest IPO of all time.—
Anthony Hughes,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
-
Other victims have only shared their experiences confidentially with experts, investigators and medical staff.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secretly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretly. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
