secretive

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secretive^¹

/ˈsiːkɹɪtɪv/
/ˈsiːkɹətɪv/

Where it comes from

From Middle English secretife, equivalent to secret + -ive.

adjective more secretive · most secretive

Having an inclination to secrecy. She's a secretive girl, not giving away much about her life.
Similar: furtive, sly

secretive^²

/səˈkɹiːtɪv/

adjective

not comparable Relating to secretion.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: tightlipped, close, closemouthed, uncommunicative, incommunicative, closelipped, secrecy, clandestine, secret, covert, confidentiality, confidential, undercover, stealthy, discreet, private

Translations

Every language

adj having an inclination to secrecy

Español	reservado, secretista, hermético, misterioso, secretivo
中文	保密的 bǎo mì dē
Português	reservado
Français	secret, cachottier
Deutsch	verschlossen, heimlichtuerisch
Ελληνικά	κρυφός kryfós
Română	secretos
Русский	скры́тный skrýtnyj, за́мкнутый zámknutyj
العربية	كَتُوم katūm, مُتَحَفِّظ mutaḥaffiẓ, مُتَكَتِّم mutakattim
עברית	חשאי khashaí, נוטה לסודיות noté lesodiyút

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MLA

"secretive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/secretive. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

secretive. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/secretive

Chicago

"secretive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/secretive.

BibTeX

@misc{secretive_2026,
  title = {secretive},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/secretive},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}