Synonyms for furtive
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Surreptitious — of a thing, done with evasive or guilty secrecy
surreptitious, clandestine, stealthy, sly, secretive, sneaky, secret, covert, under-the-table, mysterious, concealed, sneak, undercover, underhand, slinky, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, cloak-and-dagger, abstruse formal, lurky informal rare
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Of a thing: done with evasive or guilty secrecy.
- adj. 2
Of a person or an animal: sly, stealthy.
Related words
- Word family
- furtively furtiveness
Example sentences
- sly She looked at me with a sly smile on her face.
- clandestine Sami and Layla began a clandestine relationship.
- stealthy This aircraft is stealthy and carries cruise missiles.
- surreptitious The surreptitious gesture went unnoticed by the rest of the room.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| furtive | rising | |
| sly | rising | |
| clandestine | rising | |
| stealthy | rising | |
| surreptitious | rising | |
| backstair | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- sly1
- 5 letters
- sneak1, lurky
- 6 letters
- secret2, sneaky2, covert2, slinky2
- 8 letters
- stealthy2, abstruse2, thievish
- 9 letters
- concealed2, secretive3, underhand, thieflike, backstair
- 10 letters
- mysterious4, undercover4
- 11 letters
- clandestine3
- 13 letters
- surreptitious4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (secret2 = 2 syllables).