Covert Is Just Covered, With the Spelling to Prove It
Covert means hidden or secret. It is the same word as covered, and in hunting it means a thicket.
Covert means concealed or secret. It is the French past participle of *covrir*, to cover — so covert literally means covered. Hunting kept the concrete sense: a *covert*, pronounced to rhyme with *cover*, is a thicket where game hides. The security sense is pronounced KOH-vert or KUV-ert depending on where you are.
- Secret or concealed. *A covert operation.*
- A thicket sheltering game. *Drawing the covert.*
- Covertly — in secret. *Acting covertly.*
- Opposite: overt. *Overt hostility.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | covert | Covert surveillance. |
| Adverb | covertly | Covertly recorded. |
| Noun | covert | A game covert. |
| Opposite | overt | Overt support. |
| Related | cover | Take cover. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A covert operation was authorised.Intelligence.
- Overt and covert are opposites.Open and hidden.
- The hounds drew the covert.Hunting: searched the thicket.
Covert and overt
- Covert — concealed; from *cover*
- Overt — open; from French *ouvert*, opened
- Clandestine — secret, with an implication of illicitness
- Surreptitious — done stealthily to avoid notice
- Undercover — working while concealing one's identity
From Old French *covert*, past participle of *covrir*, to cover, from Latin *cooperire*. *Overt* is its opposite, from *ouvrir*, to open.
How is covert pronounced?
Traditionally KUV-ert, rhyming with covered. KOH-vert, matching overt, is now common and widely accepted.
Covert or clandestine?
Covert means hidden. Clandestine adds a sense of secrecy for improper purposes.