the unauthorized interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it (as by helping one party with money or otherwise to continue the action) so as to obstruct justice or promote unnecessary litigation or unsettle the peace of the community; "unlike champerty, criminal maintenance does not necessarily involve personal profit"
morally degraded; "a seedy district"; "the seamy side of life"; "sleazy characters hanging around casinos"; "sleazy storefronts with...dirt on the walls"- Seattle Weekly; "the sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils"- James Joyce; "the squalid atmosphere of intrigue and betrayal"
not openly; inwardly; "they were secretly delighted at his embarrassment"; "hoped secretly she would change her mind"
in secrecy; not openly; "met secretly to discuss the invasion plans"; "the children secretly went to the movies when they were supposed to be at the library"; "they arranged to meet in secret"