shifty

[ shif-tee ]

adjective

, shift·i·er, shift·i·est.

1. resourceful; fertile in expedients.
2. given to or full of evasions; tricky.

   Synonyms: slippery, foxy, crafty

3. suggesting a deceptive or evasive character:

   a shifty look.

shifty

/ ˈʃɪftɪ /

adjective

1. given to evasions; artful
2. furtive in character or appearance
3. full of expedients; resourceful

Derived Forms

• ˈshiftiness, noun
• ˈshiftily, adverb

Other Words From

• shifti·ly adverb
• shifti·ness noun
• un·shifty adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shifty¹

First recorded in 1560–70; shift + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Through some shifty maneuvering, I cut the line and managed to be one of the first ones in.

From The Daily Beast

What would a Mad Man think if he was picked out of a crowd and searched because someone thought that he looked shifty?

From The Daily Beast

Whether you like or loathe the AMC mystery, you love Holder, the shifty cop played by Joel Kinnaman.

From The Daily Beast

Fat ones, skinny ones, shifty-eyed ones with pencil moustaches and electronic ankle bracelets.

From The Daily Beast

Her eyes, now kindling again as she recovered from her recent fears, sought Fortunio's shifty glance.

From Project Gutenberg

Do, said Dangerfield, who by now was in a high pitch of excitement, staring with shifty suspicion at the woman.

From Project Gutenberg

He wore a sarcastic smile on his face, and his shifty eyes seemed to be constantly looking for a resting-place.

From Project Gutenberg

His genial, shifty, pliable, and yet persistent personality was forced to humour obstacles and to fawn on circumstance.

From Project Gutenberg

Now they were inclined to be shifty and evasive and not always over civil; and all this had come about suddenly.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cagey
• crafty
• shrewd
• slippery
• sneaky
• tricky
• wily