sneaky
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sneaky
Explanation
If you're devious or tricky, you might be described as sneaky. Tiptoeing up behind your napping dad to scare him would be sneaky. You might watch your sneaky cat stalking an oblivious squirrel, or act sneaky yourself — slipping quietly into your brother's room to borrow his favorite sweater without asking first. Anytime you make sure not to be seen doing something, you're being sneaky. Sneaky most likely has roots in the Middle English sniken, "to creep or crawl."
Vocabulary lists containing sneaky
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.
See Examples For:
They are creative projects with the sneaky ability to hollow you out sometimes, especially when the story requires you to watch someone move through a series of the hardest days of their life.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
A rate-driven selloff can hit both sides of your account at once, which is what makes this one sneaky.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
IPidea has used a number of sneaky methods to get its software installed on consumer devices, including having its software preloaded on video streaming boxes and digital picture frames.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
The intro choreography – where Chaewon interrupts her meditation for a sneaky dance – is trending on TikTok.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Mouse Girl is quiet, but she appears to be quite sneaky too.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
Dominion is the aim, but the sneakier the conquest, the sweeter the victory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
And, even sneakier, he gets the federal government to pay for it all.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 12, 2022
So wash your hands and read on for some of the sneakier places where germs and biofilms — the technical term for slimy layers of bacterial colonies — often lurk.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
Those kinds of symptoms may seem well-known, but there are others that are sneakier, that disguise themselves as something else.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2021
“I mean, maybe. That would be sneakier, just in case the FBI found any of the postcards.”
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
"Green teas are one of the sneakiest sources of caffeine because most people don’t suspect that herbal brews would contain any of that."
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2024
In Devers, the Red Sox secure one of the game’s sneakiest superstars, a 26-year-old who seemed likely to spark a massive bidding war had he hit free agency next offseason.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023
Text messages threatening to delete your Amazon account for “suspicious activity” unless you verify personal information within 48 hours are among this season’s sneakiest online holiday scams, authorities warn.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 1, 2022
This is the sneakiest good record in the league, owed largely to goalie Ville Husso’s .922 save percentage and a much tighter defensive group.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2022
It was the trickiest, sneakiest, most evil combat style she knew.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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.
