furtive

adjective

fur·​tive ˈfər-tiv 

1

a

: done in a quiet and secretive way to avoid being noticed : surreptitious

a furtive glance

exchanged furtive smiles

b

: expressive of stealth : sly

had a furtive look about him

2

: obtained underhandedly : stolen

furtive gains

furtively adverb

furtiveness noun

Did you know?

Furtive comes from either Latin furtivus or French furtif. The earliest known written uses of furtive are from the early 1600s. When first used in English, furtive meant "done by stealth," and later also came to mean, less commonly, "stolen." Whichever meaning you choose, the word has an elusive ancestry, which is particularly fitting, since a thief must be furtive to avoid getting caught in the act.

Synonyms

• shady
• shifty
• slippery
• sly
• sneaking
• sneaky
• stealthy

Choose the Right Synonym for furtive

secret, covert, stealthy, furtive, clandestine, surreptitious, underhanded mean done without attracting observation.

secret implies concealment on any grounds for any motive.

met at a secret location

covert stresses the fact of not being open or declared.

covert intelligence operations

stealthy suggests taking pains to avoid being seen or heard especially in some misdoing.

the stealthy step of a burglar

furtive implies a sly or cautious stealthiness.

lovers exchanging furtive glances

clandestine implies secrecy usually for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose and often emphasizes the fear of being discovered.

a clandestine meeting of conspirators

surreptitious applies to action or behavior done secretly often with skillful avoidance of detection and in violation of custom, law, or authority.

the surreptitious stockpiling of weapons

underhanded stresses fraud or deception.

an underhanded trick

Examples of furtive in a Sentence

This means that they need use only quantum mechanics or only general relativity and can, with a furtive glance, shrug off the barking admonition of the other. —Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe, 1999

Fall's pleasures were furtive, risky, short-lived-buckeye fights, … the endless recipes for the apples Mrs. Railsbeck asked him to fetch from the cobwebbed crate in the basement. —Stewart O'Nan, The Names of the Dead, 1996

… it made Shepherd look furtive, wary, hunted—as if the photographer had shot him against his will, in the act of slamming the door. —Helen Garner, The First Stone, 1995

He cast a furtive glance in our direction.

We exchanged furtive smiles across the table.

Recent Examples on the Web

That weekend, at the grocery store, Eliza hovered near the cosmetics wall and, almost without looking, tossed in mascara, concealer, lip gloss, and sped to the checkout, feeling furtive. —Lauren Groff, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2024

There’s always been something eerie about Seefeel’s music, in which dub and ambient flit like furtive ghosts. —Pitchfork, 5 Dec. 2024

Songs of a Lost World, the band’s latest album, is a towering achievement, a perfect retrenchment in a year full of furtive attempts at similarly nostalgic measures, of artists rehashing past glories and hit songs liberally borrowing old licks. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024

Tracking helped to transform a small, furtive ape into a global force. —Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French or Latin; French furtif, from Latin furtivus, from furtum theft, from fur thief, from or akin to Greek phōr thief; akin to Greek pherein to carry — more at bear

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

furtive

adjective

fur·​tive ˈfərt-iv 

: done in a sneaky or sly manner

a furtive look

furtively adverb

furtiveness noun