Tryst
noun /trɪst/ — A secret or private meeting between lovers.
Definition
A private meeting or rendezvous — originally with anyone, but strongly associated with secret meetings between lovers. A tryst implies secrecy, intimacy, and often transgression: the meeting that cannot happen in the open, and is therefore all the more charged.
Beyond the definition
The tryst is desire organized into logistics — the careful planning that concealment requires, the heightened experience that secrecy produces. The world outside doesn't know; inside the meeting, only the two of you exist.
Origin & history
From Old French 'triste' (an appointed station in hunting); from Old Norse 'tryst' (faith, trust). The sense of a secret meeting between lovers developed in Scotland in the 16th century.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
They had arranged their tryst for Tuesday — the word itself carrying the weight of secrecy and anticipation.
Victorian novels are mapped by trysts: the folly, the garden gate, the back corridor — the architecture of concealment.
She didn't think of it as a tryst — she thought of it as seeing him, simply, in the only way available.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Tryst” when the meaning fits your context: A private meeting or rendezvous — originally with anyone, but strongly associated with secret meetings between lovers. A tryst implies secrecy, intimacy, and often transgression: the meeting that cannot happen in the open, and is therefore all the more charged.
Synonyms
rendezvous, assignation, secret meeting
Antonyms
public meeting, open encounter
Related words
Tryst vs rendezvous
A tryst specifically implies a romantic or illicit meeting between lovers. A rendezvous is a neutral term for any pre-arranged meeting, often used in professional or military contexts.
Compare this word
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Anticipated Secret Meeting
An adult stands in the shadowed corner of a garden, quiet, tense, and waiting.
The secretive, tense waiting represents a tryst. The privacy and the exclusion of the outside world charge the meeting with urgency, making it something that must be hidden to remain real.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Tryst" mean?
Tryst is noun meaning: A secret or private meeting between lovers.. A private meeting or rendezvous — originally with anyone, but strongly associated with secret meetings between lovers. A tryst implies secrecy, intimacy, and often transgression: the meeting that cannot happen in the open, and is therefore all the more charged.
Where does the word "Tryst" come from?
From Old French 'triste' (an appointed station in hunting); from Old Norse 'tryst' (faith, trust). The sense of a secret meeting between lovers developed in Scotland in the 16th century.