secretive
/ˈsiːkɹɪtɪv/adjective
secretive is spelled S-E-C-R-E-T-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, secretive means “Having an inclination to secrecy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in secretive?
| Letters | 9: S-E-C-R-E-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,629th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is secretive?
Secretive appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce secretive?
- /ˈsiːkɹɪtɪv/
- /ˈsiːkɹətɪv/
As an adjective (“Relating to secretion”): /səˈkɹiːtɪv/.
Secretive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-secretive1.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-secretive2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of secretive
- more secretive comparative
- most secretive superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does secretive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having an inclination to secrecy.
She's a secretive girl, not giving away much about her life.
- 2
Relating to secretion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Secretive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having an inclination to secrecy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | secret, cachottier |
| German | verschlossen, heimlichtuerisch |
| Portuguese | reservado |
| Spanish | reservado, secretista, hermético, misterioso, secretivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does secretive come from?
From Middle English secretife, equivalent to secret + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).