collocations.org

Collocations for secret - noun

1. sth that must not be known by others

ADJECTIVE

big, great
little
closely guarded, well-kept
a charming museum that is one of the city's best-kept secrets (= that not many people know about)
deep (esp. AmE), hidden, inner, innermost, intimate
That evening she had revealed many of her innermost secrets.
open
Their affair is an open secret.
dark, dirty, guilty, shameful, terrible
family, military, nuclear, official, state, trade

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VERB + secret

have
guard, keep
Can you keep a secret?
hide
Uncle Charlie hides a dark secret.
betray, divulge, give away
let sb in on, let sb into (BrE), reveal, share, tell sb
She let us into her secret—she was engaged.
discover, find out, learn, uncover, unlock
know
remain
Their relationship remained a secret.

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secret + VERB

be out, come out, get out
How did the secret get out?

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PREPOSITION

in secret
The stars were married in secret to avoid publicity.
secret about
There was some secret about the source of his wealth.
secret from
I have no secrets from you.

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PHRASES

make no secret of the fact that …, not make a secret of sth
He refuses to make any secret of his political allegiances.

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2. only/best way of doing/achieving sth

VERB + secret

reveal, tell sb
know
hold
These animals may hold the secret to combating the virus.

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PREPOSITION

secret behind
She revealed the secret behind her extraordinary success.
secret of
the secrets of staying healthy

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PHRASES

the secret of (sb's) success

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Collocations for secret - adj.

VERBS

be
remain, stay
keep sth

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ADVERB

highly, top, very
a top-secret meeting
formerly, previously
The text of the previously secret treaty can now be revealed.
supposedly

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PREPOSITION

from
They managed to keep the party more or less secret from Christine.

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Secret is used with these nouns:
address, admirer, affair, agenda, agent, ambition, ballot, camera, chamber, code, compartment, corner, crush, deal, desire, diary, diplomacy, document, door, drawer, entrance, exit, fantasy, file, formula, handshake, hearing, identity, information, ingredient, intelligence, laboratory, life, location, longing, love, lover, meeting, memo, memorandum, message, mission, negotiation, panel, passage, passion, password, plan, pocket, police, recipe, rendezvous, report, retreat, ritual, service, shame, shopper, society, surveillance, talk, treasure, truth, tunnel, vault, vice, vote, weapon, wish, worry

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