Word Direct Answers

What does "secret" mean?

Secret: 2. Withdraw from general intercourse or notice; in retirement or secrecy; secluded. There, secret in her sapphire cell, He with the Naïs wont to dwell. Fenton.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Faithful to a secret; not inclined to divulge or betray confidence; secretive. [R.] Secret Romans, that have spoke the word, And will not palter. Shak.
  2. 3.Separate; distinct. [Obs.] They suppose two other divine hypostases superior thereunto, which were perfectly secret from matter. Cudworth. See Hidden.
  3. 4.Something studiously concealed; a thing kept from general knowledge; what is not revealed, or not to be revealed. To tell our secrets is often folly; to communicate those of others is treachery. Rambler.
  4. 5.A thing not discovered; what is unknown or unexplained; a mystery. All secrets of the deep, all nature's works. Milton 3. pl. The parts which modesty and propriety require to be concealed; the genital organs. In secret, in a private place; in privacy or secrecy; in a state or place not seen; privately. Bread eaten in secret is pleasant. Prov. ix.
  5. 6.To keep secret. [Obs.] Bacon.

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