1A sensitive issue or piece of information that is kept secret by the government, usually to protect the public.
‘protest was silenced and pollution was as much a state secret as the ammunition stocks’
‘Provider of unauthorised access to personal data or a state secret, along with the disclosure of a user password will serve between one to three years' imprisonment.’
‘Its contents continue to be a heavily guarded state secret.’
‘Actual death penalty statistics are a closely guarded state secret.’
‘It is no state secret that the selection convention in Castlebar was somewhat unusual to say the least.’
‘People convicted of deliberately leaking state secrets could face jail terms of three to 10 years.’
1.1humorous A piece of information, usually of a trivial or personal nature, that is closely guarded and desired to be kept private.
‘she thought her affair with the boss was a state secret, but we all giggled about it behind her back’
‘She also owns an iPod, although her playlist is a closely-guarded state secret.’
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