furtive
[ fur-tiv ]
/ ˈfɜr tɪv /
adjective
taken, done, used, etc., surreptitiously or by stealth; secret: a furtive glance.
sly; shifty: a furtive manner.
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RELATED WORDS
clandestine, covert, surreptitious, conspiratorial, artful, calculating, cautious, circumspect, crafty, creepy, cunning, disguised, elusive, evasive, foxy, hidden, hush-hush, insidious, masked, scheming
Nearby words
- further education,
- furtherance,
- furthermore,
- furthermost,
- furthest,
- furtively,
- furtwängler,
- furtwängler, wilhelm,
- furuncle,
- furuncular
Origin of furtive
SYNONYMS FOR furtive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for furtive
furtive
/ (ˈfɜːtɪv) /
adjective
characterized by stealth; sly and secretive
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
late 15c. (implied in furtively), from French furtif, from Latin furtivus "stolen, hidden, secret," from furtum "theft, robbery," from fur (genitive furis) "thief," probably from PIE *bhor-, from root *bher- (1) "to carry" (see infer). Related: Furtiveness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper