Word family noun secrecy secret secretiveness adjective secret secretive verb secrete adverb secretly secretively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsecretivese‧cre‧tive /ˈsiːkrətɪv, sɪˈkriːtɪv/ adjective SECRETa secretive person or organization likes to keep their thoughts, intentions, or actions hidden from others OPP open The government has been accused of being secretive and undemocratic.secretive about Carla was always very secretive about her work. —secretively adverb —secretiveness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
secretive• Kath's very secretive about her past, isn't she?• Years of living alone had made her secretive and unwilling to trust anyone.• A very secretive boy, I think I mentioned that.• Falconer was quiet and secretive but seemed in very good humour, laughing and talking rather garrulously.• Why did Stephen always have to be so secretive in his business dealings?• North Korea is a secretive nation.• Much of the discussion focused upon North Korea's highly secretive nuclear program.• His style as leader, distrustful and secretive, prompts regular comparisons to Richard Nixon.• They sat there smiling a secretive smile.• At least one dancer was surprised to learn that Alvin had a brother, so secretive was he about his life. 