shifty

[shif-tee]

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adjective, shift·i·er, shift·i·est.

resourceful; fertile in expedients.
given to or full of evasions; tricky.
suggesting a deceptive or evasive character: a shifty look.

Origin of shifty

First recorded in 1560–70; shift + -y¹

Related formsshift·i·ly, adverbshift·i·ness, nounun·shift·y, adjective

Synonyms for shifty

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2. crafty, foxy, slippery.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for shifty

tricky, wily, sneaky, shrewd, slippery, cagey, crafty, collusive, crooked, cunning, devious, dishonest, duplicitous, elusive, evasive, fly-by-night, foxy, fraudulent, furtive, insidious

Examples from the Web for shifty

Contemporary Examples of shifty

Through some shifty maneuvering, I cut the line and managed to be one of the first ones in.
Partying With the Golden Globes Stars: Taylor Swift Cuts a Rug, Ben Affleck Holds Court, and More
Marlow Stern
January 13, 2014
Whether you like or loathe the AMC mystery, you love Holder, the shifty cop played by Joel Kinnaman.
Joel Kinnaman: ‘The Killing’s’ Scene-Stealer
Tricia Romano
May 25, 2012

Historical Examples of shifty

The shifty, ungenerous spirit of compromise awoke in Raymount.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Eccles faced him unwillingly, with a stolid front but shifty eyes.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
He gave an impression of dry dinginess, like rawhide, and his eyes were mean and shifty.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter
He stared at her fixedly, his shifty eyes for once held steady.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter
“I am that,” exclaimed the other, with a gleam of cupidity in his shifty eyes.
The Golden Woman
Ridgwell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for shifty

shifty

adjective shiftier or shiftiest

given to evasions; artful
furtive in character or appearance
full of expedients; resourceful

Derived Formsshiftily, adverbshiftiness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for shifty

adj.

1560s, "able to manage for oneself, fertile in expedients," from shift (n.1) in secondary sense of "dodge, trick, artifice" + -y (2). Meaning "habitually using dishonest methods, characterized by trickery" first recorded 1837. In a sense "prone to shifting," of the wind, used from 1884. Related: Shiftily; shiftiness.