furtive

[ fur-tiv ]
/ ˈfɜr tɪv /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR furtive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

taken, done, used, etc., surreptitiously or by stealth; secret: a furtive glance.
sly; shifty: a furtive manner.

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Origin of furtive

1480–90; <Latin furtīvus, equivalent to furt(um) theft (compare fūr thief) + -īvus-ive

OTHER WORDS FROM furtive

fur·tive·ly, adverbfur·tive·ness, noun

Words nearby furtive

furtherance, further education, furthermore, furthermost, furthest, furtive, Furtwängler, furuncle, furunculoid, furunculosis, furunculus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to furtive

clandestine, covert, surreptitious, conspiratorial, artful, calculating, cautious, circumspect, cloaked, crafty, creepy, cunning, disguised, elusive, evasive, foxy, hidden, hush-hush, insidious, masked

Example sentences from the Web for furtive

British Dictionary definitions for furtive

furtive
/ (ˈfɜːtɪv) /

adjective

characterized by stealth; sly and secretive

Derived forms of furtive

furtively, adverbfurtiveness, noun

Word Origin for furtive

C15: from Latin furtīvus stolen, clandestine, from furtum a theft, from fūr a thief; related to Greek phōr thief
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012