covert

/ˈkoʊvərt/

/ˈkʌvərt/

Other forms: coverts

Covert means secret or hidden. Soldiers might take part in a covert mission to infiltrate an enemy camp — and you might take part in a covert mission to steal your brother's leftover Halloween candy.

Covert is the opposite of overt, which means obvious, or in full view. Covert things are hidden, private, or stealthy. It comes from the Old French covert, or "covered." A covert bag of chips you've snuck into the movie theater might literally be covered, hidden under your coat, while a covert plan to throw your dad a surprise party is just a secret.

Definitions of covert

1. adjective

   secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed
   “covert actions by the CIA”

   “covert funding for the rebels”

   synonyms:

   implicit, inexplicit

   implied though not directly expressed; inherent in the nature of something

   backstair, backstairs, furtive

   secret and sly

   black

   (of intelligence operations) deliberately misleading

   clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, secret, surreptitious, undercover, underground

   conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods

   secret

   indulging only covertly

   collusive, conniving

   acting together in secret toward a fraudulent or illegal end

   cloaked, disguised, masked

   having its true character concealed with the intent of misleading

   secret

   communicated covertly

   behind-the-scenes, sub-rosa, under-the-table

   designed and carried out secretly or confidentially

   subterranean, subterraneous, ulterior

   lying beyond what is openly revealed or avowed (especially being kept in the background or deliberately concealed)

   under wraps

   kept secret

   undisclosed, unrevealed

   not made known

   concealed

   hidden on any grounds for any motive

   invisible, unseeable

   impossible or nearly impossible to see; imperceptible by the eye

   antonyms:

   overt

   open and observable; not secret or hidden

   explicit, expressed

   precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable; leaving nothing to implication

   bald, barefaced

   with no effort to conceal

   naked, raw

   devoid of elaboration or diminution or concealment; bare and pure

   undisguised

   plain to see

   visible

   obvious to the eye

   public

   not private; open to or concerning the people as a whole

   unconcealed

   not concealed or hidden
2. noun

   a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something
   “the brush provided a covert for game”

   synonyms: concealment, cover, screen

   types:

   blind

   a hiding place sometimes used by hunters (especially duck hunters)

   camouflage

   device or stratagem for concealment or deceit

   shoji

   a translucent screen made of a wooden frame covered with rice paper

   stalking-horse

   screen consisting of a figure of a horse behind which a hunter hides while stalking game

   type of:

   covering

   an artifact that covers something else (usually to protect or shelter or conceal it)
3. adjective

   (of a wife) being under the protection of her husband
   “a woman covert”

   synonyms:

   protected

   kept safe or defended from danger or injury or loss
4. noun

   a flock of coots
   type of:

   flock

   a group of birds