secret approval vs commendation

secret approval and commendation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
secret approval	Yes	No	No	No
commendation	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, commendation is a hypernym of secret approval; that is, commendation is a word with a broader meaning than secret approval:

Other hypernyms of secret approval include approval.

secret approval (noun)	commendation (noun)
(law) tacit approval of someone's wrongdoing	an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement
	a message expressing a favorable opinion