adjective
-
given to evasions; artful
-
furtive in character or appearance
-
full of expedients; resourceful
Other Word Forms
- shiftily adverb
- shiftiness noun
- unshifty adjective
Etymology
Origin of shifty
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On the hunt for her next scoop—“the kind of thing people kill for”—she makes an appointment with a shifty potential source.
She has a knack for heightening moments and introducing characters that range from sad, weird loners to shifty and overconfident schemers.
From Los Angeles Times
Autumn’s eyes grow shifty, darting back and forth between me, Ama, and Woo.
From Literature
But those multimillion-dollar views come with a problem no amount of money can fix: The homes are built on some of the shiftiest and most unreliable soil in California.
From Los Angeles Times
Occult pyrotechnics and bloody business of all kinds are not allowed to obscure the interior shifts of the shifty Macbeths.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
