secretive
adjectiveadjectiveattested in dialogue
- //ˈsiːkɹɪtɪv//
- //ˈsiːkɹətɪv//
- //səˈkɹiːtɪv//
Having an inclination to secrecy.
adjective
- 1
Having an inclination to secrecy.
She's a secretive girl, not giving away much about her life.
Why are you acting all secretive? What are you hiding?
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.
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.
Etymology
From Middle English secretife, equivalent to secret + -ive.
adjective
- 1
Relating to secretion.
Etymology
Etymology tree English secrete Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English secretive From secrete + -ive.
Forms
- comparative
- more secretive
- superlative
- most secretive
secretive · Having an inclination to secrecy.
secretly · In secret, covertly.sect · An offshoot of a larger religion or denomination.section · A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.