Thesaurus

furtive

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of furtive

1 given to acting in secret and to concealing one's intentions

a furtive guy who always seems to be up to something, and usually that something is no-good

Synonyms of furtive

shady, shifty, slippery, sly, sneaking, sneaky, stealthy

Words Related to furtive

artful, crafty, cunning, devious, foxy, guileful, slick, wily

close, closemouthed, reticent, secretive

clandestine, covert, dark

deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, devious, duplicitous, trickish, tricky, underhand, underhanded

cheating, crooked, defrauding, dishonest, dissembling, double-dealing, knavish, two-faced

lying, mendacious, untrustworthy, untruthful

insidious, perfidious, serpentine, treacherous

Near Antonyms of furtive

aboveboard, forthright, plainspoken, straightforward

candid, direct, foursquare, frank, open, plain

honest, trustworthy, truthful

2 undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others

gave each other furtive glances as we watched our friend open the booby-trapped soda

Synonyms of furtive

backstairs, behind-the-scenes, clandestine, covert, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, private, privy, secret, sneak, sneaking, sneaky, stealth, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover, underground, underhand, underhanded

Words Related to furtive

back-channel, closed-door, off-the-books, off-the-record

classified, confidential, restricted, top secret, undisclosed

concealed, hidden, secreted, subterranean, unadvertised, unexposed

Near Antonyms of furtive

acknowledged, avowed

aboveboard, straightforward, unconcealed, undisguised

unclassified, unrestricted

clear, evident, manifest, obvious, patent, plain

Antonyms of furtive

open, overt, public

Synonym Discussion of 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

Learn More about furtive

Dictionary: Definition of furtive Spanish Central: Translation of furtive Nglish: Translation of furtive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of furtive for Arabic speakers

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