HOLE-AND-CORNER Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

hole-and-corner

adjective

ˈhōl-ən(d)-ˈkȯr-nər

Definition of hole-and-corner

as in clandestine

undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others a hole-and-corner antiterrorist operation whose very existence has been steadfastly denied by the government

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for hole-and-corner

Adjective

Bridgers’ tour restricts phones, so the reader’s account had to stand in for the clandestine photo that might otherwise have accompanied the sighting.

— Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
The Soviet Union operated an extensive clandestine biological weapons program despite being a party to the Biological Weapons Convention.

— Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of clandestine

Adjective

The dehumanization of Black people represented by the persistence of Confederate iconography in mainstream culture became an underground signifier of the precariousness of the freedoms enshrined by the 14th Amendment.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
Much has been written about the sprawling compounds of tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg, whose 1,400-acre Kauai property includes plans for a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter.

— Megan Buerger, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of underground

Adjective

There has been serious buzz recently about the film series focused on the United States conducting covert actions against drug cartels.

— David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Flashbacks to recent events reveal that the townspeople never let Hal find peace, and even firebombed his home, only for a grown-up Noah — Kerry’s son, and Zoe’s grandson — to save him and regenerate his skin using Zoe’s covert alien tech.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of covert

Adjective

Some of us live in Chicago and are well aware of the lore of the Mirage Tavern, a real bar that undercover reporters operated in the 1970s to expose corruption in the city.

— Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, 5 Oct. 2026
Investigators also said Ellaboudy advised an undercover FBI confidential human source posing as a representative of a Houthi colonel.

— Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of undercover

Adjective

The dining room has 28 seats, a private event space holds 10, and the menu proposes just three Milanese and Lombardian dishes for each of the antipasti, primi, and secondi courses (four for dessert).

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026
Mercury in your 4th House quincunxes Saturn in your 9th, creating a mismatch between private realities and bigger plans involving travel, education, beliefs, or the future.

— Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of private

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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hole

hole-and-corner

holed

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“Hole-and-corner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hole-and-corner. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hole-and-corner

adjective

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