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.

Words nearby furtive

further education, furtherance, furthermore, furthermost, furthest, furtive, furtwängler, furuncle, furunculoid, furunculosis, furunculus

Origin of furtive

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

SYNONYMS FOR furtive

1 clandestine, covert.

2 underhand, cunning.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR furtive ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM furtive

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for furtive

He fancied himself a Marxist, lived in rooming houses under aliases and was a furtive, nasty man.
Read This Book to Understand Lee Harvey Oswald|Joseph Finder|August 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Here is real, unmistakable nastiness of a fetid, furtive kind, whispered in corners after a cautious glance over the shoulder.
Can the Holocaust be Funny?|Tom Doran|April 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The handwriting clearly belonged to an unstable, conniving, furtive, shallow creep.
The John Edwards Verdict Waiting Game|Diane Dimond|May 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And it is Mark and Scott—not “Chad and Ted”—who partake of cigarettes and “furtive man-on-man action.”
Best New York Times Corrections Ever: 'The Shining,' Twilight Sparkle & More|Josh Dzieza|February 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Sanger turned birth control from a furtive, underground pursuit into an international movement.
What Happened to Labor?|Michael Kazin|September 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Sham Rao cast a furtive, timid look round him; and his voice, when he answered our questions, was somewhat tremulous.
From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan|Helena Pretrovna Blavatsky
Again the priest and the doctor stole a furtive glance across the young minister's head.
The Damnation of Theron Ware|Harold Frederic
Impelled by the strength of her love, from time to time she casts a furtive glance upon the face of her lover.
The Tiger Hunter|Mayne Reid
The girl must have been sensible of my furtive regards, for at last she laid down the sewing and looked up sharply.
The Mistress of Bonaventure|Harold Bindloss
Knowing that in the interval of getting phone connections they would be beset with furtive questions from a curious executive.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney

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

furtive

adjective

Words related to furtive

Words nearby furtive

Origin of furtive

SYNONYMS FOR furtive

OTHER WORDS FROM furtive

Examples from the Web for furtive

British Dictionary definitions for furtive

adjective

Derived forms of furtive

Word Origin for furtive