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sub rosa

adverb/ˌsʌb ˈrəʊzə/

C2CEFR level
89/100Rarity: very rare
FormalRegister

In confidence or secrecy; privately and off the record.

The merger was negotiated sub rosa long before any public announcement.

Similar: confidentially, privately, secretly

Origin: Latin, literally 'under the rose', an ancient symbol of secrecy.

Topic: secrecy in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: secrecy