Hidden vs. Secret — What's the Difference?

A past participle of hide1.

Not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others

Inflection of hide

Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others

Located or positioned out of sight; not visually apparent.

Kept hidden from knowledge or view; concealed

Obscure. en

Not expressed; inward

From Hide. Concealed; put out of view; secret; not known; mysterious.

Given to keeping one's thoughts and activities unknown to others; secretive

Not accessible to view;

Not revealing a secret or not given to revealing secrets

Covered from view;

Operating in a hidden or confidential manner

Designed to elude detection;

Containing information, the unauthorized disclosure of which poses a grave threat to national security.

Difficult to find;

Not much visited; secluded

Known or shared only by the initiated

Beyond ordinary understanding; mysterious

Something that is kept out of the knowledge or sight of others or is known only to oneself or a few

Something that remains beyond understanding or explanation; a mystery

A method or formula for doing or making something well, especially when not widely known

Secret A variable prayer said after the Offertory and before the Preface in the Mass.

(countable) A piece of knowledge that is hidden and intended to be kept hidden.

The key or principle by which something is made clear; the knack.

Something not understood or known.

(uncountable) Private seclusion.

The genital organs.

(historical) A form of steel skullcap.

Any prayer spoken inaudibly and not aloud; especially, one of the prayers in the Mass, immediately following the "orate, fratres", said inaudibly by the celebrant.

Being or kept hidden.

(obsolete) Withdrawn from general intercourse or notice; in retirement or secrecy; secluded.

(obsolete) Faithful to a secret; not inclined to divulge or betray confidence; secretive, separate, apart.

(obsolete) Separate; distinct.

(transitive) To make or keep secret.

(transitive) To hide secretly.

Hidden; concealed; as, secret treasure; secret plans; a secret vow.

Withdrawn from general intercourse or notice; in retirement or secrecy; secluded.

Faithful to a secret; not inclined to divulge or betray confidence; secretive.

Separate; distinct.

Something studiously concealed; a thing kept from general knowledge; what is not revealed, or not to be revealed.

A thing not discovered; what is unknown or unexplained; a mystery.

The parts which modesty and propriety require to be concealed; the genital organs.

To keep secret.

Something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on);

Information known only to a special group;

Something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained;

Not open or public; kept private or not revealed;

Conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods;

Not openly made known;

Communicated covertly;

Not expressed;

Designed to elude detection;

Hidden from general view or use;

(of information) given in confidence or in secret;

Indulging only covertly;

Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding;

The next to highest level of official classification for documents