secretive en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈsiːkɹətɪv/ weak vowel merger
- /ˈsiːkɹɪtɪv/
Etymology
From Middle English secretife, equivalent to secret + -ive.
Meanings
-
Having an inclination to secrecy.
Sitting back on a bench in the sunshine, Tom and I began to catch up with each other while the girls arranged their surprises at the remotest picnic table in the lay-by. Genial lorry drivers, munching wurst high in their cabs, looking down on their secretive toing and froing with interest.
1987, Christina Hardyment, “Picking up Gold and Silver”, in Heidi’s Alp: One Family’s Search for Storybook Europe, Book Club edition, New York, N.Y.: The Atlantic Monthly Press, →OCLC, page 100:She's a secretive girl, not giving away much about her life.
Donald Trump has lashed out against his own supporters, calling them gullible “weaklings” for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into the late high-profile socialite and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
2025 July 17, Oliver Holmes, “Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2025:Why are you acting all secretive? What are you hiding?
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more secretive | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most secretive | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
supersecretive · secretiveness · hypersecretive · unsecretive · semisecretive · nonsecretive · secretively
Synonyms
Translations (43)
hy գաղտնապահ (having an inclination to secrecy) · es reservado (having an inclination to secrecy) · ar مُتَحَفِّظ (having an inclination to secrecy) · es hermético (having an inclination to secrecy) · hu titkolózó (having an inclination to secrecy) · es secretista (having an inclination to secrecy) · ru скры́тный (having an inclination to secrecy) · ar كَتُوم (having an inclination to secrecy) · cs sekreční (having an inclination to secrecy) · he נוטה לסודיות (having an inclination to secrecy) · ru за́мкнутый (having an inclination to secrecy) · nl gesloten (having an inclination to secrecy) · nb hemmelighetsfull (having an inclination to secrecy) · hy ծածկամիտ (having an inclination to secrecy) · da hemmelighedsfuld (having an inclination to secrecy) · sv hemlighetsfull (having an inclination to secrecy) · ro secretos (having an inclination to secrecy) · lv noslēpumains (having an inclination to secrecy) · ar مُتَكَتِّم (having an inclination to secrecy) · nl geheimzinnig (having an inclination to secrecy) · cs tajnůstkářský (having an inclination to secrecy) · bg потаен (having an inclination to secrecy) · de heimlichtuerisch (having an inclination to secrecy) · nl gereserveerd (having an inclination to secrecy) · fr cachottier (having an inclination to secrecy) · lt slapùs (having an inclination to secrecy) · pt reservado (having an inclination to secrecy) · eo kaŝema (having an inclination to secrecy) · fr secret (having an inclination to secrecy) · fi salaperäinen (having an inclination to secrecy) · he חשאי (having an inclination to secrecy) · sq tinzar (having an inclination to secrecy) · pl skryty (having an inclination to secrecy) · ca reservat (having an inclination to secrecy) · mi whakakumu (having an inclination to secrecy) · es misterioso (having an inclination to secrecy) · es secretivo (having an inclination to secrecy) · de verschlossen (having an inclination to secrecy) · cmn 保密的 (having an inclination to secrecy) · sq tinëzar (having an inclination to secrecy) · hu titokzatos (having an inclination to secrecy) · pl tajemniczy (having an inclination to secrecy) · el κρυφός (having an inclination to secrecy)