closeted 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of closetednext
as in hidden

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

closeted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of closet
as in housed
to close or shut in by or as if by barriers he closeted himself in his study, vowing not to emerge until he had finished the term paper

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of closeted
Adjective
His latest novel follows a backlot fixer determined to expose those responsible for the death of a closeted Black actor in the late 1950s. — Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 11 June 2026 Following the show's premiere, lead actor Hudson Williams noted that the series had resonated with closeted professional athletes. — Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026
Verb
Hired as a Skyline security guard, Aaron is promoted to fixer, keeping himself and Skyline’s A-listers closeted by any means necessary. — Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026 At a time when most employees were closeted, a group of the company’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans employees came together to form the Lambda Network to reshape Kodak’s corporate culture and company policies. — Tamar Carroll, The Conversation, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for closeted
Recent Examples of Synonyms for closeted
  1. hidden
  2. housed
  3. repressed
  4. confined
  5. personal
  6. encased
  7. concealed
  8. surrounded
Adjective
  • Compare several quotes from providers and read the full contract before signing to avoid hidden fees or exclusions.
    — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • It’s also lightly lined and has a deep V-neck design that can remain hidden under different tops.
    — Clara McMahon, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
Definition of hidden
Verb
  • It was cast by the same foundry in London, Whitechapel Bell Foundry, that produced the original bell in 1752, now housed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
    — Daily News, Daily News, 4 July 2026
  • During its first decades the seventeen-story building housed The Miami News.
    — Ada Ferrer, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
Definition of housed
Adjective
  • He’s played by Grégoire Colin, one of the great modern French actors, whose onscreen persona combines unrelieved woundedness with barely repressed violence.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 June 2026
  • Zhang, delivering his first fully Cantonese-language performance on the big screen, portrays a repressed small-time man caught between competing versions of reality.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 June 2026
Definition of repressed
Verb
  • The race weekend is no longer confined to the circuit perimeter.
    — Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • The enthusiasm surrounding the trend isn’t confined to one corner of the market, though.
    — Sanika Achrekar, Glamour, 2 July 2026
Definition of confined
Adjective
  • Bryan West Madison Square Garden does hold personal significance for Swift.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • This podcast got me a boyfriend ever since Travis decided to use it as his personal dating app about two years ago.
    — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026
Definition of personal
Verb
  • Sweltering 94 degree heat encased San Jose on June 11, but that didn’t stop dozens of middle-age and bearded men from confidently strutting around Santana Row in heels.
    — Shivika Verma, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
  • Fortuitously, the small kiosk where Gil was encased acted as a kind of buffer, offering some measure of protection from the accumulation of debris looming above.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of encased
Adjective
  • In another instance, investigators identified a gray button on a test-taker's shirt as a concealed camera.
    — Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 25 June 2026
  • Kentucky lawmakers will likely let our columnist Joe Gerth down again by overriding the veto of a bill that would allow 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to carry concealed guns.
    — Ray Padilla, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of concealed
Verb
  • The area last week was surrounded by surveillance cameras and patrolled by National Guardsmen as lifelong resident John Cates strolled the area.
    — Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Piles of meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes surrounded the early risers.
    — CBS News Philadelphia Staff, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of surrounded

Browse Nearby Words

closet
closeted
closeting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Closeted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/closeted. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All