secret

Pronunciation: /ˈsiː.kɹɪt/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
  2. noun information known only to a special group
  3. noun something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

Etymology

The noun is from Middle English secret, from Latin sēcrētum. Doublet of secretum. Displaced Old English dēagolnes (“a secret”). The verb is from the noun.

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
information
Narrower (hyponyms)
trade secret, confidence, open secret

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