surreptitious
[ sur-uh p-tish-uh s ]
/ ˌsɜr əpˈtɪʃ əs /
adjective
obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.
acting in a stealthy way.
obtained by subreption; subreptitious.
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- surrebuttal,
- surrebutter,
- surrejoinder,
- surrender,
- surrender value,
- surrey,
- surrogacy,
- surrogate,
- surrogate mother,
- surround
Origin of surreptitious
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for surreptitiously
surreptitious
/ (ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs) /
adjective
done, acquired, etc, in secret or by improper means
operating by stealth
characterized by fraud or misrepresentation of the truth
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
surreptitious
mid-15c., from Latin surrepticius "stolen, furtive, clandestine," from surreptus, past participle of surripere "seize secretly," from sub "from under" (hence, "secretly") + rapere "to snatch" (see rapid). Related: Surreptitiously.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper