SECRET

I. adjective see: secede Date: 14th century 1. kept from knowledge or view ; hidden , marked by the habit of discretion ; closemouthed , working with hidden aims or methods ; undercover , not acknowledged ; unavowed , conducted in ~ , remote from human frequentation or notice ; secluded , revealed only to the initiated ; esoteric , designed to elude observation or detection , containing information whose unauthorized disclosure could endanger national security, ~ly adverb Synonyms: see: ~ II. noun Date: 14th century 1. something kept hidden or unexplained ; mystery , something kept from the knowledge of others or shared only confidentially with a few, a method, formula, or process used in an art or operation and divulged only to those of one's own company or craft ; trade ~ , the practices or knowledge making up the shared discipline or culture of an esoteric society, a prayer traditionally said inaudibly by the celebrant just before the preface of the mass, something taken to be a specific or key to a desired end