furtive

Meaning

1. Of a thing: done with evasive or guilty secrecy.
2. Of a thing: that has been acquired by theft; stolen; also (generally) taken stealthily.
3. Of a person or an animal: sly, stealthy.
4. Of a person, etc.: inclined to steal; pilfering, thieving.

Synonyms

stealthy

surreptitious

sneaky

clandestine

secret

㊙️

thievish

hidden

sneaking

backstairs

concealed

covert

sly

backstair

cleverness

deceptive

secretive

shifty

sneak

underhand

pilfering

privy

procrastinating

hesitating

clandes tine

thief-like

slinky

evasive

smuggled

hole-in-corner

esoteric

equivocal

snoop

squint

drizzling

stolen

stowaway

subterranean

cunning

suspicious

cattish

tricky

undercover

theftful

hole-and-corner

be tricky

hugger-mugger

mysterious

oblique

occult

Hyphenated as

furt‧ive

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfɜːtɪv/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: *furtyve

Cognate with French: furtif

In summary

From Middle English *furtyve (implied in furtyvely (adverb)), from Middle French furtif, furtive (“furtive, stealthy”) (modern French furtif), from Latin fūrtīvus (“clandestine, furtive, secret; concealed, hidden; stolen”), from fūrtum (“theft; robbery”) (from fūr (“thief”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives).