secret order
Covert instruction given
A secret order is an organization whose membership, rituals, or activities are concealed from outsiders.
Fraternal lodges like the Freemasons and Odd Fellows are classic examples, with initiation rites and symbolic traditions known only to members.
The term can also mean a covert directive issued by someone in authority: The president signed a secret order authorizing the surveillance program.
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- brotherhoodKinship among men
- inner circleExclusive group of confidants
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
oath · conspiracy · lodge · initiation · hidden · covert · fraternity · cabal · hidden agenda · behind closed doors · cipher · ceremony · vow · hierarchy · temple · forbidden · encrypted · cult
- orderscommand, decree, dictate, mandate, proclamation
- RosicrucianismRosicrucian, fraternity, brotherhood, manifestos, manifesto
secret orderpublic announcement
Official communication to all
public mandate · formal declaration · press release · open letter · executive order
secret orderopen society
Society permitting free inquiry
civic organization · public charity · professional association · government agency · trade union
secret, order, secrets, secretly, secretive, secretively, secretiveness, secrecy, orders