surreptitious

[ sur-uhp-tish-uhs ]
See synonyms for: surreptitioussurreptitiouslysurreptitiousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.

  2. acting in a stealthy way.

  1. obtained by subreption; subreptitious.

Origin of surreptitious

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin surreptīcius “stolen, clandestine,” equivalent to surrept(us), past participle of surripere “to steal,” (sur- sur-2 + rep-, combining form of rapere “to snatch, plunder” (see rape1) + -tus past participle suffix) + -īcius adjective suffix (see -itious)

Other words from surreptitious

  • sur·rep·ti·tious·ly, adverb
  • sur·rep·ti·tious·ness, noun

Words Nearby surreptitious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use surreptitious in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for surreptitious

surreptitious

/ (ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs) /


adjective
  1. done, acquired, etc, in secret or by improper means

  2. operating by stealth

  1. characterized by fraud or misrepresentation of the truth

Origin of surreptitious

1
C15: from Latin surreptīcius furtive, from surripere to steal, from sub- secretly + rapere to snatch

Derived forms of surreptitious

  • surreptitiously, adverb
  • surreptitiousness, noun

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