covertly

adv

Etymology: From Middle English covertli, equivalent to covert + -ly.

1. In a covert manner, secretly.

   “Only a little removed from the predatory oafdom of male adolescence, he is suspicious of Christian and covertly protective of Cher's person and future.”

   “Shimon’s interestingly stereotypical role as a conformist, but in reality covertly resistant, dominand […] is accentuated in the second half of the story[.]”