shifty

[ shif-tee ]

/ ˈʃɪf ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shifty ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

shifter, shifting cultivation, shifting spanner, shiftless, shiftwork, shifty, shiga-kruse bacillus, shigella, shigella boydii, shigella dysenteriae, shigella flexneri

Origin of shifty

First recorded in 1560–70; shift + -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR shifty

2 crafty, foxy, slippery.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shifty ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
His lower face is brutal, his eyes small and shifty, and ugly straight lines run across his low forehead.
While the Billy Boils|Henry Lawson
The eyes were restless and shifty, giving him an appearance of uneasiness.
Gabriel Tolliver|Joel Chandler Harris

Conboy looked at him with quick flashing of his shifty eyes.
Trail's End|George W. Ogden
Her eyes were shifty with the habit of fear and sunken with the weariness of crying.
Out To Win|Coningsby Dawson
The stairway reeked with associations of poverty, a shifty poverty, and Victor's gorge rose at it.
Victor Ollnee's Discipline|Hamlin Garland

British Dictionary definitions for shifty

shifty

/ (ˈʃɪftɪ) /

adjective shiftier or shiftiest

given to evasions; artful

furtive in character or appearance

full of expedients; resourceful

Derived Forms

shiftily, 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

shifty

adjective, shift·i·er, shift·i·est.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of shifty

SYNONYMS FOR shifty

Related forms

Examples from the Web for shifty

British Dictionary definitions for shifty

shifty

adjective shiftier or shiftiest

Derived Forms