clandestine

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

语言学习

2024-06-24

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2024 is: clandestine klan-DESS-tun adjective What It Means Clandestine describes something done secretly, or in a private place or way. // The wedding was a clandestine affair in Las Vegas. cynosure in Context "On the surface, it uses the traditional tropes of the spy movie—a secret intelligence network, cryptic codenames, clandestine meetings in public places—but Ghost Trail isn’t exactly thrilling, certainly not in the manner of a John le Carré novel." — Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 May 2024 Did You Know? Psst!—if your first instinct, upon being asked what you’ve been up to, is to clam up, your querier may suspect you’ve 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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  • It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24th.

  • Today's word is clandestine, spelled C-L-A-N-D-E-S-T-I-N-E.

  • clandestine is an adjective.

  • It describes something done secretly or in a private place or way.

  • Here's the word used in a sentence from Deadline by Damon Wise.

  • On the surface, it uses the traditional tropes of the spy movie,

  • a secret intelligence network, cryptic codenames,

  • clandestine meetings in public places, but Ghost Trail isn't exactly thrilling,

  • certainly not in the manner of a John Le Carré novel.

  • Psst, if your first instinct upon being asked what you've been up to is to clam up,

  • your querier may suspect you've been involved in some clandestine activities.

  • The word clandestine often substitutes for the words secret and covert,

  • and it's 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 clandestinos,

  • which is itself from the Latin verb 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.

  • With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.