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:
The deeper mystery, one I’d still like explained, is how Early found the time to learn how to mimic Douglas Sirk’s sneaky sincerity, the trickiest of directorial tones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
JG: Yeah, I think this is a sneaky important storyline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
In the UK, consumer group Which? has called it a "sneaky" tactic.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
"But they said they just wanted to keep it quiet and make that sneaky move, and they made the best move of the draft so I'm excited."
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
This was the first time her father had ever asked her to do something sneaky.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Dominion is the aim, but the sneakier the conquest, the sweeter the victory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
Bots could soon get much sneakier thanks to advances in artificial intelligence.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2023
And, even sneakier, he gets the federal government to pay for it all.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 12, 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
As time went on, though, and the Academy started sending Glitchers in to capture them, the Butterflies got smarter and a lot sneakier.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Freezing small portions of high-impact ingredients is one of the easiest, sneakiest ways for home cooks to borrow a bit of that cheffy magic.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2025
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.
