surreptitious

[sur-uh p-tish-uh s]

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.

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

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

Related Words for surreptitiously

secretly, covertly, stealthily, privately

Examples from the Web for surreptitiously

Contemporary Examples of surreptitiously

Egan claims he was forced to consume alcohol and drugs, while drugs were also surreptitiously added to drinks he consumed.
New Hollywood Sex Scandal: Bryan Singer’s Accuser Files Another Suit
Tim Teeman
June 10, 2014
Then, shuffling, she surreptitiously grabs the one he chose with her mouth while pretending to cut the deck.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction
Abby Haglage
May 4, 2014
A man sat opposite her, took out his phone, and surreptitiously photographed her eating.
All You Need to Be a Modern Digital Stalker Is a Smartphone
Tauriq Moosa
April 10, 2014
Before breaking her heart a second time, he surreptitiously mined intimate details from her life to include in the tale.
9 Works Inspired by Writers’ Love Lives
Joni Rendon, Shannon McKenna Schmidt
February 14, 2014
His surreptitiously recorded "47 percent" remarks were the perfect expression of radical Tea Party ideology.
Carl Bernstein on Mitt Romney's Radicalism
Carl Bernstein
November 1, 2012

Historical Examples of surreptitiously

The best of them he contrived to deal with himself, secretly and surreptitiously.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
Surreptitiously Naomi pinched her hip till it felt black and blue.
Tree, Spare that Woodman
Dave Dryfoos
As softly and as surreptitiously as it begins to rain on a cloudy day, she was crying.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
He and his wife were taking lessons from Prue surreptitiously at their own home.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
Why, indeed, was she back in England surreptitiously, and in that neighbourhood?
The Doctor of Pimlico
William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for surreptitiously

surreptitious

adjective

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

operating by stealth

characterized by fraud or misrepresentation of the truth

Derived Formssurreptitiously, 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

Word Origin and History for surreptitiously

surreptitious

adj.

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.