furtive
Americanadjective
-
taken, done, used, etc., surreptitiously or by stealth; secret.
a furtive glance.
- Synonyms:
- covert, clandestine
-
a furtive manner.
- Synonyms:
- cunning, crafty, underhanded
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of furtive
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin furtīvus, equivalent to furt(um) “theft” (compare fūr “thief”) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
If you're looking for a formal adjective to describe something sly or secret, sneak in furtive. Let's hope the teacher doesn't see your furtive attempts to pass notes in class! The adjective furtive is related to fūrtum, the Latin word for "theft or robbery." This is apparent as the expressions "to give someone a furtive glance" and "to steal a glance at someone" mean the same thing. If a person's manner is furtive, he or she is acting suspiciously. Secret, stealthy, and sly are all similar in meaning, but they lack this image of a thief's actions.
Vocabulary lists containing furtive
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List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
DJing this “worldwide hardcore rodeo” — which won’t stop until sunrise — will be Brooklyn-based headliners Tygapaw and Satronic alongside D.C. talents Furtive, Gabberbitch69 and Limitbreak!.
From Washington Post • Mar. 6, 2020
Furtive, ratlike mammals lived in the gloomy understory.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 29, 2019
Furtive shaming groups are also the perfect foil to the highly public and performative Insta-weddings that constitute so much of our online consumption.
From Slate • Aug. 27, 2018
Furtive, quiet, he seemed to be trying to alert my guy, Ralph, and by extension, me, the reader, to something.
From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2016
Just heaven!" cried Gillon the Furtive, a flatterer and liar, like all court valets, "Charles VII is an angel!
From The Executioner's Knife Or Joan of Arc by Sue, Eug?ne
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
