What does secretly mean?
Word: Secretly
Part of Speech: Adverb
Meaning: Secretly means in a way that is kept hidden, so that other people do not see or know about it.
Synonyms: privately, quietly, stealthily
Antonyms: publicly
How do you spell secretly?
Syllables: se - cret - ly
Tricky part: Students sometimes slip in an extra e (secretely) or an extra c (secrectly).
Watch out for: secretely, secrectly, secreatly
Memory tip: Something done secretly is kept quiet, and so are the letters that try to sneak in: no extra e and no extra c.
Secretly in a sentence
Example 1: The children secretly decorated the classroom for their teacher's birthday.
Example 2: My brother secretly kept a stray kitten in the garage for two days.
Example 3: The twins secretly swapped seats to puzzle their new teacher.
Fun Fact
Secret and secretary come from the same Latin word, secretus, which first meant set apart or separated.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Which word means the opposite of secretly in this sentence?
Rohan secretly saved his pocket money to buy his sister a birthday gift.
a) patiently
b) openly
c) carefully
d) silently
Show answer
b) openly. Doing something openly means letting everyone see it, the reverse of keeping it hidden.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
During the long train ride to Jaipur, my cousins secretly planned a suprise birthday treat for Grandma and hid the cake under a berth.
a) cousins
b) suprise
c) secretly
d) planned
Show answer
b) suprise. Surprise has an r after the u as well as after the p, so suprise is the misspelt word; secretly, cousins and planned are correct.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Meera srtcleey wrapped the present while her brother was out at football practice.
a) sweetly
b) secretly
c) swiftly
d) scarcely
Show answer
b) secretly. The jumble has a c and an r, so sweetly and swiftly are out, and scarcely would need an a.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word:
1. curiosly 2. sudenly 3. cautiusly 4. secretly
a) carefully, so as to avoid danger
b) quickly and without warning
c) in a way that shows interest
d) out of sight of everyone else
Show answer
d) out of sight of everyone else. Suddenly has a double d, cautiously keeps the o of cautious and curiously the u of curious, so secretly is the one spelt right.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If you do something secretly, you ____.
a) tell everyone about it first
b) do it in front of a big crowd
c) make sure others do not find out
d) ask the whole class to help
Show answer
c) make sure others do not find out
2. Which phrase is closest in meaning to secretly?
a) at once
b) out loud
c) on the sly
d) in public
Show answer
c) on the sly
