surreptitiously
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of surreptitiously
First recorded in 1580–90; surreptitious ( def. ) + -ly
Explanation
When you're doing things secret and sneakily, you're doing them surreptitiously. This is an adverb that applies to actions that you're trying to do covertly: you don't want anyone to know about them, so you have to be sneaky. Burglars approach a house surreptitiously. If you plan a surprise party for your mother, you have to go about it surreptitiously or she'll find out and the surprise will be ruined. Anything you don't reveal fully or do on the sly is an example of going about it surreptitiously.
Vocabulary lists containing surreptitiously
The Diary of a Young Girl
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Harriet Tubman
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Twilight
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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.
According to Flores, he began surreptitiously recording his colleagues after their inappropriate commentary got so bad that one day a police lieutenant warned them that if they continued, they would “bring down the whole department.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Chipotle also said it was bringing back “mystery shoppers” — generally, people posing surreptitiously as customers — to offer more feedback to restaurant crews.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
TikTok had committed to do that in June 2022, but the Justice Department alleged in 2024 that company employees had surreptitiously sent U.S. user data to China in violation of the pledge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Whether it’s vanquishing assailants or surreptitiously surveilling enemies, daemons provide significant advantages for their masters.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Shadow bought the coffees and took them over to Czernobog, who was sitting with the old black man, and was smoking a cigarette surreptitiously, as if he were scared of being caught.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
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.
