top secret

adjective

Definition of top secretnext
as in confidential
kept completely hidden from the public by high government officials top secret documents The mission is top secret.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar 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 top secret This book and movie also have one of my favorite Clancy Facts, which is that Tom revealed a top secret, silent navigation technology that caused a minor stir in the world of military-industrial-complex boat guys. — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026 Taylor, along with Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel and the rest of the events team, spends practically all of April in a conference room at the Vogue office, going over the seating chart, which lives on a large poster board that is kept top secret. — Madeleine Luckel, Vogue, 2 May 2026 The indictment claims that the entries included sensitive information up to the top secret and sensitive compartmented information level, a designation that means it was derived from sensitive intelligence sources. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 4 June 2026 Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Brand New Day also stars Jacob Batalon, Tramell Tillman, and Stranger Things star Sadie Sink as a top secret character. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for top secret
Recent Examples of Synonyms for top secret
  1. confidential
  2. restricted
  3. personal
  4. classified
  5. private
  6. esoteric
Adjective
  • The Kremlin said the offer was made via confidential channels; Ukrainian officials have not publicly discussed any such proposal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
  • The Supreme Court on Thursday let stand a lower-court order that forces former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge to either disclose a confidential source or pay $800 a day in court sanctions.
    — Julian Mark, Washington Post, 2 July 2026
Definition of confidential
Adjective
  • Another man has been charged with operating an unregistered drone in restricted airspace around Dallas Stadium during the FIFA World Cup, federal attorneys said Friday.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 July 2026
  • In a separate interview, another person familiar with the situation — who has been involved in past intelligence investigations involving Venezuelan officials — offered additional allegations about the restricted zone.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
Definition of restricted
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
Adjective
  • Agencies must first try to locate potentially relevant files, often by keyword search, then remove or redact anything classified, sensitive, or otherwise exempt from disclosure.
    — Steven Melendez, Scientific American, 2 July 2026
  • Therefore, future discoveries, both within our solar system and beyond it, could further reshape scientists' understanding of planetary systems and how planets are classified.
    — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of classified
Adjective
  • Gabriella paid off most of his entourage to leave him and the band alone and is now basically his own private Joe Jackson, pressuring him to record nonstop.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 6 July 2026
  • The Castro family has been linked, through GAESA chiefly, to a lucrative world of hotels, banks, retail monopolies, foreign-currency businesses, foreign private compounds and offshore accounts.
    — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026
Definition of private
Adjective
  • Afterwards, group members went on to form several other hugely meaningful outfits such as Slint, Gastr Del Sol, Bastro, Papa M and the For Carnation, transmuting Squirrel Bait’s Reagan-era aggression into more esoteric, impossible-to-classify sonic explorations.
    — Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 25 June 2026
  • This offers the do-it-yourself warrior a simple, direct route from antiquated lead-acid to state-of-the-art lithium without having to search for esoteric parts online.
    — Malana VanTyler, USA Today, 24 June 2026
Definition of esoteric

Browse Nearby Words

tops
top secret
top-shelf
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Top secret.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/top%20secret. Accessed 7 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!

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