surreptitious

[ sur-uh p-tish-uh s ]

/ ˌsɜr əpˈtɪʃ əs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR surreptitious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.

acting in a stealthy way.

obtained by subreption; subreptitious.

Nearby words

surrebuttal, surrebutter, surrejoinder, surrender, surrender value, surreptitious, surrey, surrogacy, surrogate, surrogate mother, surround

Origin of surreptitious

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin surreptīcius stolen, clandestine, equivalent to surrept(us), past participle of surripere to steal, (sur- sur-² + rep-, combining form of rapere to snatch, rape¹ + -tus past participle suffix) + -īcius -itious

Related forms

sur·rep·ti·tious·ly, adverbsur·rep·ti·tious·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for surreptitious

Last month I turned and faced their surreptitious security: “Catch any thieves today?”
‘Why Have I Lost Control?’: Cory Booker in ’92 on Rodney King Echoes Ferguson|Cory Booker|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They refused until they had “achieved their surreptitious climax.”
Speed Read: 11 Most Shocking Moments From Pete Townshend’s ‘Who I Am’|Abby Haglage|October 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But by 1953, with McCarthyism and the second Red Scare in full swing, the FBI moved from surreptitious research to direct contact.
Inside Howard Zinn's FBI Files|Clark Merrefield|July 30, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The soft and surreptitious footstep of a person making his way cautiously to the door was unmistakable.
The Vultures|Henry Seton Merriman

Occasionally their native wit gained for them a surreptitious triumph.
The Birth of Yugoslavia, Volume 1|Henry Baerlein
The twins, eying one another with surreptitious and fearful pleasure, conveyed in their glances a knowledge of what had happened.
The Squire's Daughter|Archibald Marshall
Was he about to witness the surreptitious departure of the unwelcome guest?
Anderson Crow, Detective|George Barr McCutcheon
But he did not complete his reference to last night's surreptitious conversation.
The Martian Cabal|Roman Frederick Starzl

British Dictionary definitions for surreptitious

surreptitious

/ (ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs) /

adjective

done, acquired, etc, in secret or by improper means

operating by stealth

characterized by fraud or misrepresentation of the truth

Derived Forms

surreptitiously, adverbsurreptitiousness, noun

Word Origin for surreptitious

C15: from Latin surreptīcius furtive, from surripere to steal, from sub- secretly + rapere to snatch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012