stealthily

[stel-thi-lee]

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.

Other Word Forms

• unstealthily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of stealthily¹

stealthy ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

These five places in California’s wilderness are jaw-droppingly beautiful but stealthily treacherous, taking the lives of explorers and rescuers alike.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The thieves stealthily board eastbound freight trains, hiding out until they reach lonely stretches of the Mojave Desert or high plains far from towns.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Every month, you stealthily realize you’re in the process of losing more and more.

Read more on Salon

They feed at night, stealthily approaching a sleeping mammal.

Read more on Science Daily

Most dangerous of all, he had stealthily stopped drinking water, hastening the physical collapse that often accompanies full-scale mental crises.

Read more on New York Times