Cambridge Dictionaries online Cambridge Dictionaries online

The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English

  

secretive

adjective
 
 
/ˈsiː.krə.tɪv/ US  /-t̬ɪv/ mainly disapproving

Definition

People who are secretive hide their feelings, thoughts, intentions, and actions from other people: He's being very secretive about his new girlfriend.Secrecy and privacy secretively
 
 
/-li/ adverb mainly disapproving
secretiveness
 
 
/-nəs/ noun [U] mainly disapproving
(Definition of secretive adjective from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“secretive” in other dictionaries

Word of the Day

be under a cloud

to not be trusted or popular because people think you have done something bad

Word of the Day

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

Learn More

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.

Learn More