stealthily

American  

[stel-thi-lee] / ˈstɛl θɪ li /

adverb

1. in a way that is secret and quietly careful; furtively or surreptitiously.

   Three shadowed figures could be seen creeping stealthily from the boathouse.

   Orange and black stripes flashed through the trees as the tiger stealthily approached some spotted deer.

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Other Word Forms

• unstealthily
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of stealthily

stealthy ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

If you move stealthily, you do not want to be seen or felt. A cat moves stealthily when it approaches a mouse. Stealthily is the adverb form of stealth: Think stealth bomber, that miraculous, if flawed, creation of the American military that was supposed to escape detection, including being nearly invisible on radar. We often think of hunters as moving stealthily. They sneak up on their prey, soundlessly. Originally, the word implied that you were looking to rob or steal something, which makes sense: this term is all about being secretive and undetected. Clumsy people have trouble doing things stealthily.

Example Sentences

Stealthily reentering the room, she poked the vinyl between his toes and returned to her own hotel.

From Washington Post • Mar. 17, 2021

Stealthily, the sportswear that is a mostly American innovation has become a universalized form of millennial dress.

From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2017

Stealthily, cumulatively, it became the miracle of the festival.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2011

Stealthily Peter brings fear to the Lord's supper, into the breaking of the bread we share that betokens our mutual love.

From The Guardian • Apr. 7, 2011

Stealthily Camilla leaned to one side and began to slip off her shoe, but before she could, Charles had killed it with a resounding thwack from The Book of Common Prayer.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt