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
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Recent Examples of secretly
Caleb Elliott, 26, is a former Celina ISD middle school football coach and substitute teacher who is facing multiple state and federal charges tied to secretly recording boys in a Moore Middle School locker room.
—
Doug Myers, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
At Free Eden, Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the boutique’s basement after hours with Cherry and Fig.
—Kennedy French, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026
The trouble with DarkSword is that it can be secretly installed if hosted on a malicious website.
—Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
In July 2025, the county secretly paid Murray $100,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the county in April 2024.
—David Plymyer, Baltimore Sun, 26 Mar. 2026
Unbeknownst to Audrey, her cousin had secretly coordinated with several of her closest friends, arranging surprise appearances on the plane and at their destination.
—Ronnie Li, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Harry Potter is not secretly being infused with anything.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 25 Mar. 2026
The complaint alleges Novartis used tracking pixels on its websites offering drug-discount programs to secretly transmit patient medical conditions, prescriptions and other sensitive health data to advertising companies including Google and ContentSquare.
—Andrew Joseph, STAT, 25 Mar. 2026
Authorities say the suspect also secretly recorded guests at his short-term rental property using his cellphone to film through window cracks.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Doug Myers, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
At Free Eden, Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the boutique’s basement after hours with Cherry and Fig.
—Kennedy French, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026
The trouble with DarkSword is that it can be secretly installed if hosted on a malicious website.
—Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
In July 2025, the county secretly paid Murray $100,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the county in April 2024.
—David Plymyer, Baltimore Sun, 26 Mar. 2026
Unbeknownst to Audrey, her cousin had secretly coordinated with several of her closest friends, arranging surprise appearances on the plane and at their destination.
—Ronnie Li, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Harry Potter is not secretly being infused with anything.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 25 Mar. 2026
The complaint alleges Novartis used tracking pixels on its websites offering drug-discount programs to secretly transmit patient medical conditions, prescriptions and other sensitive health data to advertising companies including Google and ContentSquare.
—Andrew Joseph, STAT, 25 Mar. 2026
Authorities say the suspect also secretly recorded guests at his short-term rental property using his cellphone to film through window cracks.
—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for secretly
Adverb
-
The loop will remove thousands of vehicles from surface roads daily and is entirely privately funded, according to a press release.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
-
It would be totally privately funded.—
Alysia Burgio,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Shared information will be treated confidentially.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
-
He was not allowed to review medical records, examine facility health policies, assess staffing levels or speak confidentially with detainees.—
Alexandra Mendoza,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Secretly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secretly. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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