adjective / noun

secret

SEE-kruht/sˈikrʌt/

Information kept from general knowledge.

She keeps her plans for the surprise party a secret.

A woman privately whispers into another woman's ear behind a shielding hand; the listener signals silence with a finger to her lips while a nearby third person remains excluded from the exchange.

Etymology

Something “set apart” came to mean something hidden or private. A secret is information kept apart from general knowledge.

In context

Sleepless Historian43:31

A careless sentence could move farther than you expected. Someone might remember it. Someone might repeat it. Someone might tell another person. [clears throat] And eventually your secret might become someone else's opportunity.

Being a MEDIEVAL Assassin Was a Terrifying Experience | Sleepcbless Historian

More examples

The company keeps its customer records secret.
He trusts his sister with his deepest secrets.
The secret to her success is consistent practice.

Forms

secret · secrets

secrecy noun — The practice of keeping information hidden.

secretly adverb — Without other people knowing or noticing.

Similar words

confidential: Emphasizes that information is entrusted only to authorized people.
private: Emphasizes personal boundaries rather than deliberate efforts at concealment.
hidden: Can mean out of sight, not just unknown to others.