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- Secret; private; hidden; furtive; withdrawn from public view: generally implying craft, deception, or evil design.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. 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 Conducted with secrecy; withdrawn from public notice, usually for an evil purpose; kept secret; hidden; private; underhand.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
- Latin clandestīnus, probably blend of *clam-de, secretly (from clam; see kel-1 in Indo-European roots) and intestīnus, internal; see intestine.
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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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
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Land
A list of terms for land, landholdings, or words that contain the string -land-.
scabland, wheatland, cornland, slander, land-locked, dryland, riceland, clandestine, acreage, island, Iceland, Greenland and 230 more...
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List 15
compelling, clandestine, capacious, captivate, amicable, emulate, fetter, frugal, hackneyed, hiatus, inane, jubilant and 13 more...
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::: I like :::
soliloquy, eros, agape, solipsism, palimpsest, fabulist, lore, raconteur, harbinger, anamnesis, sattvic, comprecation and 20 more...
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general search words
words when I found them in the articles
benign, pantomime, deregulation, regressive, morose, staid, mercurial, temperament, ludicrous, fallacy, discord, afloat and 17 more...
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Them's Fighting Words
annihilate, clandestine, conflagration, enmity, feral, furtive, impede, intrepid, pacify, pugnacious, ruse, stratagem and 5 more...
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Vocab Words
Common words and their meanings.
Ra eh RA EH ..............whim, debilitating, grimoire, vain, morphine, shingle, muzzle, moccasin, stifle, fiend, chain of command, clandestine and 9 more...
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very good words must use in writing
ambivalent, allegory, spartan, callousness, clandestine, voluptuous, monologue, furtive, repudiate, fanatic, anodyne, reconnoitering and 4 more...
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September Words-11849
During the month of September, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has...
psilocybin, raca, schema, myriad, copacetic, chastise, fractal, tourniquet, turncoat, vicarious, surreptitiously, clandestine and 34 more...
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In communication
smoke signal, foot-in-mouth dis..., clandestine, sardonic, spiel
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In lust
rapacious, sensualist, furtive glance, clandestine, moonswept
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19th Century
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Secrets
those sly words

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