thievish
Americanadjective
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given to thieving.
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of a thief; stealthy.
a furtive, thievish look.
Usage
What does thievish mean? Thievish is used to describe a person who is thought to be prone to being a thief, especially as part of a pattern of behavior. The verb thieve means to steal or commit theft. The word thieving can be used to mean the same thing as thievish. The related noun thievery refers to the practice of stealing. The word thievish can be applied to those who are thought to steal all the time or to live a criminal lifestyle. The word thieving is more commonly used this way, and is often paired with other negative adjectives to describe someone as a dishonest and corrupt criminal, as in They are nothing but a bunch of lying, scheming, thieving criminals!Thievish can also be used to describe someone as behaving in a way that’s like a thief in terms of being secretive or stealthy. Example: He and his thievish accomplishes will soon be caught red-handed during one of their heists.
Other Word Forms
- thievishly adverb
- thievishness noun
- unthievish adjective
- unthievishly adverb
- unthievishness noun
Etymology
Origin of thievish
Vocabulary lists containing thievish
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.
As his friends and rivals well knew, he was a thievish genius.
From The Guardian • May 7, 2010
In the dark, his thievish eyes glow with unshed 419 tears.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 28, 2009
On the other hand there are also some of the most false, lying, thievish rascals, the like of which I could not have believed lived on earth.
From Time Magazine Archive
It may be possible, even as you hint, that the sheriff is away hunting the woods to the south for those two rascally, thievish hoboes.
From The Outdoor Chums on the Lake Lively Adventures on Wildcat Island by Allen, Quincy
The night was balmy, and loitering, thievish puffs of air came laden with rifled sweetness from multitudinous lips of forest and garden bloom.
From A Speckled Bird by Wilson, Augusta J. Evans
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.
