secret

secret
se|cret1 W3S3 [ˈsi:krıt] adj
[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: Latin secretus, past participle of secernere 'to separate']
1.) known about by only a few people and kept hidden from others
→↑secrecy
▪ They kept their relationship secret from their parents.
▪ agents on a secret mission
▪ a secret plan to end the war
▪ secret talks with the terrorists
secret compartment/passage etc
▪ The drugs were found in a secret compartment in Campbell's suitcase.
secret ingredient/recipe/formula
▪ The cookies are made to a secret recipe.
2.) [only before noun]
secret feelings, worries, or actions are ones that you do not want other people to know about
▪ His secret fear was that Jenny would leave him.
▪ Did you know you had a secret admirer (=someone who is secretly in love with you) ?
3.) secret weapon
something that will help you gain a big advantage over your competitors, that they do not know about
4.) used to describe the behaviour of someone who is keeping their thoughts, intentions, or actions hidden from other people
= ↑secretive secret about
▪ They're being very secret about it.
▪ There was a secret smile on her face.
>secretly adv
▪ They were secretly married.
secret 2
secret2 W3S3 n
1.) something that is kept hidden or that is known about by only a few people
→↑secrecy
▪ I can't tell you. It's a secret.
▪ She wanted to tell everybody her secret .
▪ Can you keep a secret ?
▪ Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me.
▪ Why is all this such a big secret ?
▪ The location for the wedding is a closely-guarded secret .
▪ He was accused of passing state secrets to a foreign power.
▪ I kept this dark secret for 15 years.
▪ She shared her innermost secrets with him.
▪ It was no secret that the two men hated each other.
▪ It's an open secret that he wants Derek's job.
2.) in secret
in a private way or place that other people do not know about
▪ The negotiations were conducted in secret.
3.) the secret
a particular way of achieving a good result, that is the best or only way
the secret to (doing) sth
▪ The secret to making good pastry is to use very cold water.
▪ Your hair always looks so great - what's your secret?
▪ What do you think is the secret of her success ?
4.) make no secret of sth
to make your opinions about something clear
▪ Louise made no secret of her dislike for John.
5.) the secrets of life/nature/the universe etc
the things no one yet knows about nature etc
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
COLLOCATES for sense 1
it's a secret
tell somebody a secret/let somebody in on a secret also reveal a secret formal
keep a secret (=not tell someone about something)
your secret is safe with me (=I will not tell anyone about it)
big secret (=an important secret, or something that is known by very few people)
little secret (=a secret that is not very important)
be a closely-guarded/well-kept secret (=a secret that very few people know about)
state/official secret
trade secret
dark secret (=a secret about something bad)
somebody's innermost secrets (=someone's most personal secrets)
it's no secret (that) (=everyone knows about this)
it's an open secret (that) (=most people know about this, although you might expect it to be a secret)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Synonyms:
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  • secret — SECRÉT, Ă, secreţi, te, adj., s.n. I. adj. 1. Care este ţinut ascuns, care rămâne necunoscut, nedivulgat; confidenţial. Tratative secrete. ♢ Asociaţie (sau organizaţie, societate) secretă = organizaţie cu caracter conspirativ, constituită în… …   Dicționar Român

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  • Secret — • The prayer said in a low voice by the celebrant at the end of the Offeratory in the Roman Liturgy Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Secret     Secret      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • secret — [sē′krit] adj. [OFr < L secretus, pp. of secernere, to set apart < se , apart (see SECEDE) + cernere, to sift, distinguish: see HARVEST] 1. kept from public knowledge or from the knowledge of a certain person or persons 2. withdrawn, remote …   English World dictionary

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  • Secret — Se cret, n. [F. secret (cf. Pr. secret, Sp. & Pg. secreto, It. secreto, segreto), from L. secretum. See {Secret}, a.] 1. Something studiously concealed; a thing kept from general knowledge; what is not revealed, or not to be revealed. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • secret — I adjective abstruse, acroamatic, acroamatical, arcane, arcanus, clandestine, close, concealed, confidential, covert, cryptic, dark, esoteric, furtive, hidden, latent, mysterious, not public, obscure, occult, occultus, private, privy, recondite,… …   Law dictionary

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