Standard Lemma guide

secretion

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /sɪˈkriːʃ(ə)n/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH0 K R IY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any substance that is secreted by an organism.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The act of secreting a substance, especially from a gland.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The act of hiding something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: secreting, spiriting away

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a functionally specialized substance (especially one that is not a waste) released from a gland or cell

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: liquid body substance, bodily fluid, body fluid, humor, humour

Narrower terms: ganoin, ganoine, lacrimal secretion, lachrymal secretion, perspiration, sweat, sudor, hormone, endocrine, internal secretion, intestinal juice, autacoid, autocoid, synovia, synovial fluid, mucus, mucous secretion, saliva, spit, spittle, sebum, royal jelly, musk, nectar, pheromone

5

noun

Meaning 5

the organic process of synthesizing and releasing some substance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: secernment

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: organic process, biological process

Narrower terms: galactosis, hypersecretion, salivation

History

Etymology

(1646) From French sécrétion, from Latin sēcrētiō, sēcrētiōnem.

Across languages

Translations

84 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: إِفْرَاز (ʔifrāz) — secreted substance
  • Arabic: مُفْرَزَة (mufraza) — secreted substance
  • Bulgarian: секреция (sekrecija) — secreted substance
  • Catalan: secreció — secreted substance
  • Chinese Mandarin: 分泌物 (fēnmìwù) — secreted substance
  • Czech: výměšek — secreted substance
  • Czech: sekret — secreted substance
  • Danish: sekret — secreted substance
  • Esperanto: sekreciaĵo — secreted substance
  • Finnish: erite — secreted substance
  • French: sécrétion — secreted substance
  • Galician: secreción — secreted substance
  • German: Absonderung — secreted substance
  • German: Sekret — secreted substance
  • Greek: έκκριση (ékkrisi) — secreted substance
  • Ancient Greek: ἔκκρισις (ékkrisis) — secreted substance
  • Ancient Greek: ἰκμάς (ikmás) — secreted substance
  • Hindi: स्राव (srāv) — secreted substance
  • Hungarian: váladék — secreted substance
  • Indonesian: sekret — secreted substance
  • Italian: secrezione — secreted substance
  • Japanese: 分泌物 — secreted substance
  • Northern Kurdish: derdan — secreted substance
  • Macedonian: лачевина (lačevina) — secreted substance
  • Macedonian: секрет (sekret) — secreted substance
  • Malay: kumuh — secreted substance
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sekret — secreted substance
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sekret — secreted substance
  • Polish: wydzielina — secreted substance
  • Portuguese: secreção — secreted substance
  • Romanian: secreție — secreted substance
  • Russian: выделе́ние (vydelénije) — secreted substance
  • Russian: секре́ция (sekrécija) — secreted substance
  • Spanish: secreción — secreted substance
  • Swedish: sekret — secreted substance
  • Turkish: salgı — secreted substance
  • Turkish: ifraz — secreted substance
  • Ukrainian: ви́ділення (výdilennja) — secreted substance
  • Arabic: إِفْرَاز (ʔifrāz) — act of secreting
  • Bulgarian: отделяне (otdeljane) — act of secreting
  • Catalan: secreció — act of secreting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 分泌 (fēnmì) — act of secreting
  • Czech: vylučování — act of secreting
  • Czech: vyměšování — act of secreting
  • Czech: sekrece — act of secreting
  • Dutch: secretie — act of secreting
  • Esperanto: sekrecio — act of secreting
  • Finnish: eritys — act of secreting
  • French: sécrétion — act of secreting
  • Galician: secreción — act of secreting
  • German: Sekretion — act of secreting
  • Greek: έκκριση (ékkrisi) — act of secreting
  • Hindi: रिसना (risnā) — act of secreting
  • Hindi: रिसाव (risāv) — act of secreting
  • Hungarian: elválasztás — act of secreting
  • Indonesian: sekresi — act of secreting
  • Italian: secrezione — act of secreting
  • Japanese: 分泌 — act of secreting
  • Northern Kurdish: derdan — act of secreting
  • Macedonian: лачење (lačenje) — act of secreting
  • Macedonian: излачување (izlačuvanje) — act of secreting
  • Macedonian: секреција (sekrecija) — act of secreting
  • Malay: ڤريمبيسن (perémbésan) — act of secreting
  • Norwegian Bokmål: utskillelse — act of secreting
  • Persian: ترشح (taraššoh) — act of secreting
  • Portuguese: secreção — act of secreting
  • Romanian: secretare — act of secreting
  • Romanian: secreționare — act of secreting
  • Romanian: secrețiere — act of secreting
  • Russian: выделе́ние (vydelénije) — act of secreting
  • Russian: секре́ция (sekrécija) — act of secreting
  • Spanish: secreción — act of secreting
  • Swedish: sekretion — act of secreting
  • Swedish: utsöndring — act of secreting
  • Swedish: insöndring — act of secreting
  • Turkish: ifraz — act of secreting
  • Ukrainian: ви́ділення (výdilennja) — act of secreting
  • Ukrainian: секре́ція (sekrécija) — act of secreting
  • Bulgarian: укриване (ukrivane) — act of hiding
  • Finnish: piilottaminen — act of hiding
  • Finnish: piilottelu — act of hiding
  • French: mettre au secret — act of hiding
  • Greek: απόκρυψη (apókrypsi) — act of hiding
  • Greek: συγκάλυψη (sygkálypsi) — act of hiding