stealthy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of stealthy
Explanation
Use the adjective stealthy to describe something or someone that is marked by secrecy, even sneakiness. Ninjas are stealthy, moving quietly and cautiously, which makes them excellent spies. When something is done in a stealthy way, the motivation is almost always to escape from being noticed. If your cat is walking so lightly that you can’t hear her footsteps, she's not necessarily being stealthy on purpose, she’s just a graceful cat. However, if you see your cat creeping forward toward a mouse, trying not to scare it away before she can pounce, then she's definitely being stealthy.
Vocabulary lists containing stealthy
List 1
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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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.
Alinejad started a social media campaign in 2014 encouraging women in Iran to share self-portraits without the Islamic veil, which she then shares on her Facebook page, "My Stealthy Freedom."
From Reuters • Sep. 27, 2022
It’s not; MSI’s changes to the Stealth line have made it more powerful at the expense of other features that made it, well Stealthy.
From The Verge • Aug. 6, 2022
Masih Alinejad, the U.S.-based activist who in 2014 started a women’s protest movement called “My Stealthy Freedom,” said this week that she had received and reposted more than 2,000 videos from inside the country.
From Washington Post • Dec. 3, 2019
In the three years that it has been running, My Stealthy Freedom has received more than 3,000 photos and videos showing women without their heads covered.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2017
Stealthy Louise lifted her tail to keep from knocking over anything as she made for the door.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
