covertness
Quality of concealment
Covertness is the quality of being hidden, secret, or concealed from view or knowledge.
It describes the state of operating in a way that avoids detection or public awareness.
The word appears most often in discussions of espionage, surveillance, or clandestine operations: The covertness of the mission was essential to its success.
Unlike secrecy, which emphasizes the withholding of information, covertness suggests active concealment of actions or presence.
Act of hiding something
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- mimicryAdaptive resemblance to another
- blendCombine into mixture
- maskingConcealing by covering
invisibility · cryptic · adaptive · chameleon · camo · disruptive · obscure · thicket
Quality of protecting secrets
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- hiddenKept out of sight
- undisclosedNot made known
unrevealed · hush-hush · non-disclosure · private · sealed · restricted · need-to-know · top-secret
Done secretly, avoiding detection
- furtiveSecretive and sly
- sneakyStealthily deceptive
- slyCleverly deceptive
- underhandedSecretly dishonest or unfair
devious · crafty · guileful · cunning · scheming · duplicitous · subterfuge · cloak-and-dagger
Covert information gatherer
- infiltrationCovert entry into organization
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- reconnaissanceInformation-gathering before action
agent · operative · mole · sleeper · handler · tradecraft · dead-drop · cipher
concealment
Act of hiding something
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- mimicryAdaptive resemblance to another
- blendCombine into mixture
masking · invisibility · cryptic · adaptive · chameleon · camo · disruptive · obscure · thicket · hide
confidentiality
Quality of protecting secrets
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- hiddenKept out of sight
undisclosed · unrevealed · hush-hush · non-disclosure · private · sealed · restricted · need-to-know · top-secret · redacted
surreptitious
Done secretly, avoiding detection
underhanded · devious · crafty · guileful · cunning · scheming · duplicitous · subterfuge · cloak-and-dagger · backstairs
spy
Covert information gatherer
- infiltrationCovert entry into organization
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
reconnaissance · agent · operative · mole · sleeper · handler · tradecraft · dead-drop · cipher · codebreaking
silent
Producing no sound
- unseenNot perceived visually
- undetectedNot discovered yet
- stealthySecretly cautious in movement
ninja · ghost · shadow · creep · prowl · tiptoe · noiseless · soundless · unnoticed · imperceptible
- secrecysecrecy, secret, secrets, confidential, classified
- obscurityinvisibility, anonymity, concealment, hiddenness, obscurity
- fugitivesfugitive, escapee, escaped convict, runaway, prison escapee
covertnessopenness
Quality of being accessible
overtness · transparency · visibility · conspicuousness · exposure
covertnesscandor
Unguarded truthfulness
directness · forthrightness · frankness · straightforwardness · honesty
cover, recover, uncover, covering, recovery, covert, coverage, undercover, discover