English words...

Is there any actual difference between the adjectives 'secret' and 'surreptitious' ?

I have allready checked Dictionary.com. It seems to me that 'secret' is more an objective word and that 'surreptitious' has to do with something being kept secret for an illicit purpose. Or can 'surreptitious' be used instead of 'secret' in any situation?

Am I correct?

You're almost there. Surreptitious is a synonym of secret, but is used in the context of being unethical and stealthy. Like it's indicated on Dictionary.com:

the surreptitious mobilization of troops preparing for a sneak attack.

I wouldn't say that in proper use of vocabulary and grammar, secret and surreptitious could be substituted one way or the other, but to every other person, saying:

the secret mobilization of troops preparing for a sneak attack.

wouldn't make a difference. Hope this helps.

~ Adhamh.

Riiiiiiiiight!

I hope this helped you. I'm afraid my explanations and theories can go totally off track.

~ Adhamh.

No, I mean it. It did really helped! Could have figured that out myself, but I didn't study the details on the page too well or wasn't sure if I had understood it correctly.
Hey, you should be a teacher or somethin' !