secrecy
Keeping things hidden
Secrecy is the practice or condition of keeping things hidden from others.
It implies deliberate concealment: The project was conducted in secrecy, She swore him to secrecy.
Secrecy often carries negative connotations of deception or exclusion, though it may be justified for privacy or security.
Government secrecy frustrates journalists.
Personal daily record
- journalRecord of daily events
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
- closetBuilt-in storage chamber
affair · shame · guilt · anonymity · pseudonym · alias · privacy · intimate
Kept out of sight
- covertIntentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- disguisedConcealed true identity
- undercoverSecretly engaged in espionage
stealth · camouflage · incognito · masked · veiled · shrouded · obscured · invisible
Restricted from disclosure
- restrictedLimited in scope
- privateRestricted to certain parties
- sensitiveEasily affected emotionally
- proprietaryLegally owned, restricted use
clearance · need-to-know · redacted · sealed · nondisclosure · privileged · embargo · off-the-record
Covert information gatherer
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
- moleSubterranean insectivore
cipher · codebreaking · dead-drop · handler · operative · tradecraft · infiltration · reconnaissance
Hiding wrongdoing from public
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- leakEscape through a breach
transparency · disclosure · accountability · censorship · propaganda · blackout · suppression · redaction
diary
Personal daily record
- journalRecord of daily events
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
closet · affair · shame · guilt · anonymity · pseudonym · alias · privacy · intimate · unspoken
hidden
Kept out of sight
- covertIntentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- disguisedConcealed true identity
undercover · stealth · camouflage · incognito · masked · veiled · shrouded · obscured · invisible · undetected
classified
Restricted from disclosure
- restrictedLimited in scope
- privateRestricted to certain parties
- sensitiveEasily affected emotionally
proprietary · clearance · need-to-know · redacted · sealed · nondisclosure · privileged · embargo · off-the-record · trust
spy
Covert information gatherer
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
mole · cipher · codebreaking · dead-drop · handler · operative · tradecraft · infiltration · reconnaissance · wiretap
cover-up
Hiding wrongdoing from public
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- classifiedRestricted from disclosure
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
leak · transparency · disclosure · accountability · censorship · propaganda · blackout · suppression · redaction · stonewalling
- privacyprivacy, private, seclusion, confidentiality, solitude
- red flagsred flags, warning signs, warning, caution, alarm
- hidden motivesulterior motive, hidden agenda, scheming, plotting, deceit
- Manhattan ProjectManhattan Project, Los Alamos, Trinity test, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer
- mysteriousnessenigma, mystique, inscrutability, obscurity, crypticness
- Secrecy TermsNDA, classified, confidential, privacy, redacted
secrecyopenness
Quality of being accessible
disclosure · transparency · revelation · publicity · exposure
secrecytransparency
State of being see-through
openness · open government · freedom of information · accountability · visibility
secrecycandor
Unguarded truthfulness
frankness · honesty · forthrightness · openness · directness
- top secretHighest classification level
- secret agentClandestine government operative
- secret codeEncrypted communication system
- dark secretConcealed shameful knowledge
- dirty secretConcealed shameful information
- open secretKnown fact nobody admits
secret, secretly, secretive, secrets, secretary, secretion, secrete, secretiveness, secretariat