MEANING
Inclined to conceal information, intentions, or activities from others.
Use it for
Guarded families, withheld motives, questions repeatedly evaded.Show concealment as a habit observable in conversation and routine.
Words that belong together
- secretive manner
- secretive household
- secretive about money
On the page
He became secretive about the estate accounts.
The household's secretive habits frustrated even its oldest friends.
She was less secretive with the gardener than with her own brother.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- secretive
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. A behavioral tendency; differs from secret, which describes information not widely known. Can imply distrust or guardedness. Comparative more secretive; superlative most secretive. Derived adverb secretively.
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