Clandestinely

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /klænˈdɛs.tɪn.li/

Definitions

1. In a manner deliberately concealed from public knowledge or official awareness, often to avoid detection or legal consequences
2. In a secretive manner designed to avoid notice or discovery by authorities or others
3. Through hidden or covert means intended to escape detection or observation

Etymology: Clandestinely is an ordinary English adverb built from two parts: the adjective "clandestine" and the suffix "-ly", which turns an adjective into an adverb describing manner. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from a Proto-Germanic form meaning something like "body" or "form", which gave Old English the ending "-līc", meaning "having the form or appearance of". Over time that ending wore down to "-ly", the same ending you find in words like "quickly" or "kindly". The adjective "clandestine" is the more interesting half, since it arrived in English from Latin "clandestinus", meaning "secret" or "hidden", itself built on "clam", meaning "secretly" or "in secret". The core idea is concealment. So "clandestinely" simply means "in a clandestine way": doing something in a manner that hides it from view.

Synonyms: secretly, covertly, furtively

Antonyms: openly, publicly