Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Kept or done in secret, often in order to conceal an illicit or improper purpose. See Synonyms at secret.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Secret; private; hidden; furtive; withdrawn from public view: generally implying craft, deception, or evil design.
- Any secret marriage, but especially one contracted in defiance of the will of parents or guardians. Synonyms Latent, Covert, etc. See secret.
Wiktionary
- adj. Done or kept in secret, sometimes to conceal an illicit or improper purpose.
- adj. freemasonry Not recognized as a regular member.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Conducted with secrecy; withdrawn from public notice, usually for an evil purpose; kept secret; hidden; private; underhand.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
Etymologies
- From French clandestin, derived from Latin clandestīnus ("secret, concealed"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin clandestīnus, probably blend of *clam-de, secretly (from clam; see kel-1 in Indo-European roots) and intestīnus, internal; see intestine. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“And they are the people in the agency that make things happen, as far as collecting intelligence and running what we call clandestine operations.”
“The line that separates openly official and covert/clandestine is not a bright one.”
“Private security guards working for Blackwater USA participated in clandestine CIA raids against suspected insurgents in Iraq and ... military | Comment | Recommend”
“WASHINGTON (AP) Private security guards working for Blackwater USA participated in clandestine CIA raids against suspected insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, The New York Times reported Thursday.”
“Is it beyond the realm of possibility that Gordon Brown is indulging in clandestine class-warfare?”
“Robert, rape exists throughout the world in clandestine ways.”
There Are No Superior Or Inferior Cultures « Unambiguously Ambidextrous
“The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria.”
“It is not to say our officials were always good, untouched by dirty deeds done in clandestine ways.”
“BAGHDAD, Iraq (KRT) - By day, Iraqis loyal to Saddam's Hussein's much-feared Baath Party recite their oath in clandestine meetings, solicit donations from former members and talk politics over sugary tea at a Baghdad cafe known as simply "The Party.”
“One of the aspects of early modern philosophy I know almost nothing about, an ignorance I certainly wish to remedy at some point, is what is usually called the clandestine philosophy.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘clandestine’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Orwellian Purism
Words and phrases George Orwell criticizes in his essay 'Politics and the English Language'.
ring the changes on, take up the cudge..., toe the line, ride roughshod over, stand shoulder to..., play into the han..., no axe to grind, grist to the mill, fishing in troubl..., on the order of t..., Achilles’ heel, swan song and 162 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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EN-HU - important words for a HU inte...
Words only (I left out the expressions) from Geza Kerenyi's EN-HU interpreters' dictionary. Most of them pose some difficulty when interpreted between HU and EN in either or both directions.
abalone, abrasive, abstractionist, abstruse, abysmal, academia, accessibility, accessible, acclimate, accolade, accompanist, achiever and 1469 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 297 more...
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May 2013
ungulate, kvetch, scintilla, clandestine, vis-a-vis, pygmy, dour, sodomite, erythematous, purveyor, blandishment, tontine and 1 more...
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gre words
convoluted, deride, melancholy, antagonize, antagonize, deference, portentous, prodigious, ruminate, ineffable, turgid, mossy and 58 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1901 more...
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Words For Novel
viridity, effigy, paragon, congested, acrid, lilting, clandestine, plethora, accolade, sardonic, naïve, reckoning and 285 more...
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Favorites
disparage, partisan, cupidity, hokum, tussle, odious, dastardly, overture, plane, chronic, peering, peer and 328 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, replete, steeped, eminent, perceive, intrepid, compound, automaton, reticent, interminable, drudgery and 288 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
bumwank, calamity, recalcitrant, gayenese, jeeze, nonsense, flabbergasted, juxtapose, procrastinating, ossanity, biffing, loser and 1972 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for clandestine.
mkluver1 This word I read in Night World by L.J.Smith Oct 1, 2010
myth This is one of Anthony Bourdain's favorite words. He uses it several times in his book "Kitchen confidential" as well as on his show "No reservations." Feb 1, 2009
knitandpurl "Certainly, the affairs of this sort of which I have been a spectator have always been, as far as their setting is concerned, of the most imprudent and least probable character, as if such revelations were to be the reward of an action full of risk, though in part clandestine."
--Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust, translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin, revised by D.J. Enright, p 10 of the Modern Library paperback edition Jan 22, 2009
dontcry A Scottish family's future Apr 22, 2008
sionnach "The way that boy is being raised, he's gonna grow up to be a bigot", said Tom in a clandestine fashion. Oct 30, 2007