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You can’t steal someone’s heart without capturing their attention, nor can you steal someone’s thunder without hijacking their audience’s attention. But attention is something most thieves would rather avoid; whether stealing a glance or a diamond, one must be furtive or risk getting caught in the act. When first used in written English in the early 1600s, furtive meant "done by stealth." It later adopted the less common meaning "stolen" or "obtained underhandedly." Whichever meaning you choose, the word has a fittingly elusive ancestry, either stepping into English via the French furtif or coming directly from that word's ancestor, the Latin furtivus, itself a descendent of fur, meaning "thief."
Examples of furtive in a Sentence
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.
Keith Sharon, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Mounting fear within the Jewish and Conservative communities of New York is that Mamdani’s furtive stance of justice for Palestine and divestment from Israel is stoking the flame of more virulent Anti-Semitism to come.
—Alexandra Bregman, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
The clip, which shows the dog giving its owner furtive side-eye while cautiously walking by captured the breed's endearing blend of innocence and mischief.
—Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025
The secret-weapon character who makes the more haunting impression is Agnes, whose chignon hides a rebellious spirit underneath — as well as a furtive romance with the stable boy, Isak (Malte Gårdinger).
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for furtive
Cite this Entry
“Furtive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/furtive. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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furtive
adjective
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