clandestine
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\n \n Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2024 is:\n \n
\n \n\n clandestine • \\klan-DESS-tun\\ • adjective
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Clandestine describes something done secretly, or in a private place or way.
\n\n// The wedding was a clandestine affair in Las Vegas.
\n\n\n \n \n\n Examples:
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"On the surface, it uses the traditional tropes of the spy movie\u2014a secret intelligence network, cryptic codenames, clandestine meetings in public places\u2014but Ghost Trail isn\u2019t exactly thrilling, certainly not in the manner of a John le Carr\xe9 novel." \u2014 Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 May 2024
\n \n \n\n Did you know?
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Psst!\u2014if your first instinct, upon being asked what you\u2019ve been up to, is to clam up, your querier may suspect you\u2019ve been involved in some clandestine activities. Clandestine often substitutes for secret and covert, and it is commonly applied to actions that involve secrecy maintained for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose, as in "clandestine activities pursued under cover of night." It comes to English by way of Middle French, from the Latin word clandestinus, which is itself from the Latin adverb clam, meaning "secretly." Note that this clam is not the ancestor of the English word clam, despite how tightly sealed and thus secretive the bivalves may seem.
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