furtive

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“
Offitt was a human beast of prey--furtive, sly, and elusive, with all his faculties constantly in hand.

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Characterized by stealth; surreptitious.
  2. adjective Expressive of hidden motives or purposes; shifty. See Synonyms at secret.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

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Examples (50)

  • In so much that was furtive, there was something more furtive than all in the sly, quick thrusting out of sight of the book; she glanced over guiltily at the bed and the dead girl was watching her, lying there softly on the crimson shawl, with wide, unwinking blue eyes. —  Tour De Force - Christianna Brand - Cockrill 06: 1955
  • So furtive was the bronze man's progress that not often were the feathered songsters disturbed The timber became thicker, with less brush and higher, more sturdy trees. —  027 - The Secret In The Sky
  • The sound was tiny, furtive, and filled with some peculiar undertone. —  037 - The Metal Master
  • We have a sense that that sort of thing is squalid, furtive, and somehow … dirty. —  The Ministry of Minor Perfidy
  • His glance was furtive, and he always seemed to be expecting some one to touch him on the shoulder, and say, "You are wanted;" so Charles remarked to his sisters It would be impossible to describe all the people. —  The Voyages of the Ranger and Crusader And what befell their Passengers and Crews.
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Suggestions Wordniks Suggest

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

stealthy ·  sly ·  wary ·  cautious ·  uneasy ·  wistful ·  sidelong ·  timid ·  surreptitious ·  apprehensive ·  suspicious ·  hesitant
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French furtif, from Old French, from Latin fūrtīvus, from fūrtum, theft, from fūr, thief; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Old French furtif, French furtif = Spanish Portuguese Italian furtivo, from Latin furtivus, stolen, purloined, hence also hidden, concealed, secret, from furtum, theft, robbery, from furari, steal, thieve, from fur, a thief: see furacious and ferret.
 

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/ˈfərtɪv/
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