В этом слове скрытый смысл.

Because after в in the sense of in / within, Russian usually uses the prepositional case.

• Dictionary form: слово = word
• Prepositional singular: в слове = in the word

So:

• слово = a word / the word
• в слове = in the word

The same thing happens with the pronoun:

• это слово = this word
• в этом слове = in this word

Этом is also in the prepositional case, because it has to agree with слове.

Russian adjectives and pronouns agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• слово is neuter singular
• after в meaning location, it becomes в слове
• so этот also changes to the matching form этом

So the whole phrase is:

• в этом слове = in this word

A useful thing to notice: in the prepositional singular, masculine and neuter often have the same form:

• в этом доме = in this house
• в этом слове = in this word

Russian usually omits the verb to be in the present tense.

So a sentence like:

• В этом слове скрытый смысл.

literally looks like:

• In this word hidden meaning.

But naturally it means something like:

• There is a hidden meaning in this word.
• This word has a hidden meaning.

This is completely normal in Russian. Compare:

• Он студент. = He is a student.
• Книга на столе. = The book is on the table.
• В этом слове скрытый смысл. = There is a hidden meaning in this word.

Because скрытый is the full adjective form, and here it directly describes the noun смысл.

• скрытый смысл = hidden meaning

By contrast, скрыт is the short form, usually used predicatively:

• Смысл скрыт. = The meaning is hidden.

So the difference is roughly:

• скрытый смысл = a hidden meaning
• смысл скрыт = the meaning is hidden

In your sentence, скрытый is part of the noun phrase скрытый смысл.

Смысл is in the nominative singular.

That is because it is the main noun phrase of the sentence:

• скрытый смысл = hidden meaning

Even though English might use there is, Russian often just has a noun phrase with no present-tense verb. So смысл stays nominative as the core of the statement.

You can think of the structure as:

• В этом слове = setting/location
• скрытый смысл = what is there

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but this order is very natural.

Starting with В этом слове does two things:

• it sets the context first: in this word
• it emphasizes where the hidden meaning is found

So the sentence flows like:

• As for this word, there is a hidden meaning in it.

Other orders are possible, but they sound different in emphasis. For example:

• Скрытый смысл в этом слове.
  Possible, but less neutral and more marked.

• В этом слове смысл скрыт.
  Also possible, but this uses a different structure and focuses more on the idea that the meaning is concealed.

The given order is a good neutral way to say it.

Not necessarily. In Russian, just like in English, в слове can be used abstractly.

So В этом слове скрытый смысл means that the word carries, contains, or suggests some deeper meaning. It does not mean that something is physically inside the word.

This kind of abstract в is very common in Russian:

• в книге = in the book
• в тексте = in the text
• в имени = in the name
• в слове = in the word

Because Russian has no articles like a and the.

So скрытый смысл can mean:

• a hidden meaning
• the hidden meaning

Which one sounds best depends on context.

In this sentence, English will often use:

• a hidden meaning

because the idea is being introduced, but context could make the hidden meaning possible too.

Russian leaves that distinction to context rather than a separate word.

The stresses are:

• В э́том сло́ве скры́тый смы́сл.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• в = like v
• э́том = EH-təm
• сло́ве = SLO-vye
• скры́тый = SKRY-tïy
• смы́сл = smysl

A smoother English-style approximation could be:

• v EH-təm SLO-vye SKRY-tïy SMYSL

The consonant clusters in скрытый and смысл may feel difficult at first, which is very normal for learners.

Yes, absolutely.

• В этом слове скрытый смысл.
• В этом слове есть скрытый смысл.

Both are correct.

The version with есть can sound a little more explicit, like:

• There is a hidden meaning in this word.

The version without есть is also very natural and often sounds a bit more compact or stylistically smooth.

So as a learner, you should recognize both patterns.