| Main Entry: | secretive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | uncommunicative |
Synonyms: |
backstairs, buttoned up, cagey, clammed up, close, close-mouthed, covert, cryptic, enigmatic, feline, furtive, hushed, in chambers, in privacy, in private, in the background, in the dark, on the QT, reserved, reticent, silent, taciturn, tight-lipped, undercover, unforthcoming, withdrawn, zipped |
Antonyms: |
communicative, forthright, honest, open |
| Main Entry: | cagey |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | tricky |
Synonyms: |
cagey, careful, circumspect, crafty, cunning, leery, secretive, shrewd, sly, wary, wily |
| Main Entry: | close |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | secret, reserved |
Synonyms: |
buttoning one's lip, buttoning up, clamming up, close-lipped, closemouthed, hidden, hush-hush, mum's the word, on the Q. T., private, reticent, retired, secluded, secretive, silent, taciturn, tight chops, tight-lipped, uncommunicative, unforthcoming, zipping one's lips |
Antonyms: |
open, unreserved |
| Main Entry: | cryptic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | secret; obscure in meaning |
Synonyms: |
Delphian, Delphic, abstruse, ambiguous, apocryphal, arcane, cabalistic, dark, enigmatic, equivocal, esoteric, evasive, hidden, incomprehensible, inexplicable, murky, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, occult, opaque, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secretive, strange, tenebrous, unclear, unfathomable, uninformative, vague, veiled |
| Notes: | cryptic coloration helps conceal an animal; phaneric coloration makes an animal stand out |
Antonyms: |
clear, obvious, plain, seen, straightforward |
| Main Entry: | inconspicuous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hidden, unnoticeable |
Synonyms: |
camouflaged, concealed, dim, faint, hidden, indistinct, insignificant, low-key, low-profile, modest, muted, ordinary, plain, quiet, retiring, secretive, shy, soft-pedalled, subtle, tenuous, unassuming, unemphatic, unobtrusive, unostentatious |
Antonyms: |
conspicuous, exposed, noticeable, open, unhidden |
| Main Entry: | introverted |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | reserved |
Synonyms: |
bashful, cautious, close-mouthed, cold*, collected, cool, demure, introspective, modest, offish, quiet, reclusive, restrained, secretive, shy, soft-spoken, solitary, standoffish, uncommunicative, withdrawn |
| Main Entry: | mum |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | silent |
Synonyms: |
bashful, buttoned up, clammed up, closemouthed, hushed, mute, muted, nonvocal, not forthcoming, not talkative, quiet, reserved, secretive, shy, soundless, speechless, still, tight-lipped, tongue-tied, uncommunicative, unsociable, unspeaking, voiceless, wordless, zipped |
| Main Entry: | mysterious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | secret, concealed |
Synonyms: |
abstruse, alchemistic, arcane, astrological, baffling, cabalistic, covert, cryptic, curious, dark, difficult, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocal, esoteric, furtive, hidden, impenetrable, incomprehensible, inexplicable, inscrutable, insoluble, magical, mystical, mystifying, necromantic, obscure, occult, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secretive, sphinxlike, spiritual, strange, subjective, symbolic, transcendental, uncanny, unfathomable, unknowable, unknown, unnatural, veiled, weird |
Antonyms: |
apparent, known, obvious, plain, public, straightforward, tangible, unmysterious |
| Main Entry: | obscure |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | out-of-the-way, little-known |
Synonyms: |
abstruse, arcane, blind, cabalistic, close, covered, cryptic, dark, deep, devious, distant, enigmatic, esoteric, far, far-off, hidden, humble, inaccessible, inconspicuous, inglorious, invisible, irrelevant, lonesome, lowly, minor, mysterious, nameless, odd, oracular, orphic, rare, recondite, remote, removed, reticent, retired, secluded, secret, secretive, seldom seen, sequestered, solitary, undisclosed, undistinguished, unheard-of, unhonored, unimportant, unknown, unnoted, unseen, unsung |
Antonyms: |
distinguished, famous, known |
| Main Entry: | quiet |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | without or with little sound |
Synonyms: |
buttoned up, clammed up, close, close-mouthed, could hear a pin drop, dumb, hushed, hushful, inaudible, low, low-pitched, muffled, mute, muted, noiseless, not saying boo, peaceful, quiescent, quieted, reserved, reticent, secretive, silent, soft, soundless, speechless, still, stilled, taciturn, tight-lipped, uncommunicative, unexpressed, unspeaking, unuttered, whist |
Antonyms: |
boisterous, clamorous, loud, noisy |