hidden

IPA/ˈhɪdn/
KK[hˈɪdən]IPA/ˈhɪdn/

hidden — adjective

  • hiddenpositive
  • more hiddencomparative
  • most hiddensuperlative

1. When something is hidden, it is placed somewhere that makes it difficult for oth

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

When something is hidden, it is placed somewhere that makes it difficult for others to see or locate.

Example

Owen found a hidden camera in the corner of the hotel room.

hidden + camera — concealed recording device

The old keys were hidden behind a loose brick in the garden wall.

Common collocations
  • hidden camera
  • hidden door
  • hidden entrance
  • hidden treasure
  • hidden compartment
Synonyms
  • concealed

    more formal and often suggests intentional hiding

  • covered

    emphasises something placed on top, not necessarily hidden from view

  • buried

    suggests being placed underground or under a large amount of material

Antonyms
  • visible

    able to be seen without effort

  • exposed

    not protected or covered at all

Usage Note

Can be used both attributively (a hidden camera) and predicatively (the ring lay hidden). When used as a past participle after be or get, it can describe the result of someone hiding something.

Common Mistakes

I hidden the letter inside the drawer.
I hid the letter inside the drawer.
hidden is the past participle (used with have/be); hid is the simple past tense.

2. A hidden fact, feeling, or issue exists without being known to most people; it i

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

A hidden fact, feeling, or issue exists without being known to most people; it is not talked about or made public.

Example

Haruto discovered a hidden talent for painting during his first college art class.

hidden + talent — undiscovered ability

The loan agreement had several hidden costs that the bank did not explain clearly.

Common collocations
  • hidden agenda
  • hidden costs
  • hidden fees
  • hidden risks
  • hidden talent
  • hidden meaning
  • hidden sadness
Synonyms
  • secret

    emphasises that only a small group knows about it

  • undisclosed

    formal; used especially for facts or information that have not been shared

  • concealed

    may imply deliberate effort to keep something from being known

Antonyms
  • public

    known to everyone

  • open

    not kept from others; clear for all to see

Usage Note

Commonly used with abstract nouns such as cost, fee, risk, reason, agenda, meaning, talent, sadness, history. It does not describe physical concealment — the thing exists but is not widely known.

Common Mistakes

She hidden the truth from her parents.
She hid the truth from her parents.
hidden is the past participle; the past simple is hid.
The movie has hidden message.
The movie has a hidden message.
hidden is an adjective and needs the article a/an/the before countable nouns.
Idioms

hidden agenda

idiom

A secret but real reason for doing something, different from the reason you give publicly.

Voters suspected that the politician had a hidden agenda when he suddenly supported the new tax law.

hidden in plain sight

idiom

Something is very easy to see, but people fail to notice it because it is so obvious or ordinary.

The spy's notebook was hidden in plain sight on the library shelf among dozens of other old books.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Hidden is the most general word: it simply means something is out of sight or hard to find, whether deliberately or accidentally. Concealed is more formal and strongly suggests a purposeful act — someone chose to put the object where others cannot see it. Covered focuses on the physical layer that hides the object (a box covered by a cloth), so the object may still be obvious once the cover is removed. Buried is the most specific: it implies being placed underground or under a large pile of material. For everyday use, hidden works in almost all situations. Use concealed when the intention to hide matters (a concealed weapon), covered when the hiding mechanism is a visible layer, and buried when depth or heaviness is involved (buried cables, buried treasure).

hidden ↗concealed ↗covered ↗buried ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • remain hidden
  • stay hidden
  • keep something hidden
  • lie hidden

Adverbs

  • carefully hidden
  • well hidden
  • cleverly hidden
  • deliberately hidden
  • partially hidden

Phrases

  • hidden from view
  • hidden from sight
  • hidden from the public

Prepositions

  • hidden from
  • hidden in
  • hidden under
  • hidden behind
  • hidden beneath

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

Hidden comes from the Old English verb hydan ('to hide, conceal, keep safe'), which has relatives in Old High German hūtan and Old Norse hýða. The adjective form developed in Middle English (hid, hydde) and by the 1400s took the -en ending to become hidden, modelled on strong past participles like written and bitten.