secretive

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Even the flares from the drinking dens seemed secretive, and the shadowy places impenetrable.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. adjective Having or marked by an inclination to secrecy; not open, forthright, or frank. See Synonyms at silent.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

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Examples (50)

  • Three times the size of the CIA and many times more secretive, the NSA's own initials have inspired many nervous jokes, such as "No Such Agency" and "Never Say Anything." —  Berks county news
  • And"--seeing the expression of Isa's countenance, she concluded that it would not do to be quite so secretive--"and, to tell you the truth, I did like him. —  The Mystery of Metropolisville
  • And Dong-Yung, very quiet and passive in the pose of her body, gazed up at Foh-Kyung with those strange, secretive, ardent eyes. —  O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1919
  • He is clever, as the Devil, but secretive--my faith! —  The Lost Naval Papers
  • Even the flares from the drinking dens seemed secretive, and the shadowy places impenetrable. —  The Pawns Count
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

reticent ·  suspicious ·  sly ·  furtive ·  uncommunicative ·  wary ·  devious ·  sneaky ·  reclusive ·  hesitant ·  arrogant ·  unpredictable
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

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/səˈkritɪv/
by American Heritage

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