1
as in shady
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 & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clandestine
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 & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of furtive
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
His squirrelly, strained voice was well attuned to the furtive ambivalence of his stage presence.
—Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialized the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research, undermining the literature that everyone from doctors to engineers rely on to make decisions about human lives.
—Guillaume Cabanac, The Conversation, 29 Jan. 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
Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025
His squirrelly, strained voice was well attuned to the furtive ambivalence of his stage presence.
—Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialized the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research, undermining the literature that everyone from doctors to engineers rely on to make decisions about human lives.
—Guillaume Cabanac, The Conversation, 29 Jan. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for furtive
Adjective
-
Maybe not something drastic like a world war, slavery or the Holocaust, but there’s always shady s–t going on.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Meursault also starts hanging out with his shady and brutish French neighbor, Raymond (Pierre Lottin), whose abusive relationship with an Algerian girl (Hajar Bouzaouit) eventually leads to the murder.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The Bundy family’s statement noted this and said their destination was not clandestine, as the FBI document alleged.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The result was the Commandos, who operated in clandestine raids behind the lines to harass the enemy with remarkable success.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Pressured by friends to join the popular online game Nerve, Vee teams up with a sly and charming competitor (Dave Franco) for just one dare in what seems like harmless fun.—
Caitlin White,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The trio laughed at his sly line of questioning.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song And the internet has receipts.—
Mehera Bonner,
Marie Claire,
15 Mar. 2017
Adjective
-
Not sure if this one was already posted besides all the other fancy stuff … looks like a new cruise missile (most likely a land-attack system) and maybe also as a stealthy KD-20/20A replacement?—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Many wondered how the Packers were able to be all stealthy in nabbing Parsons.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Woman of the Hour In her directorial debut, Anna Kendrick stars as aspiring actress Sheryl Bradshaw, who unknowingly crosses paths with a covert serial killer (Daniel Zovatto) while appearing on The Dating Game.—
Jacqueline Weiss,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
That provision allows a president to take covert actions as long as Congress is informed.—
Emily Goodin,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This meant that select watch faces, like Reflections, could update every second even in standby, meaning a sneaky glance down at your wrist during a dull meeting could tell you the time with to-the-second precision.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
If the Falcons can’t stop Baker Mayfield and play aggressively to keep pace, Penix could be sneaky.—
Jake Ciely,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In it, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning goes undercover in heavy prosthetics and a wig and dons the alias Chad Powers to try out as a walk-on quarterback for Penn State football.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Senate Bill 627, for example, would prohibit law enforcement agents from covering their faces to obscure their identity, carving out exceptions for SWAT teams and undercover officers.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Furtive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/furtive. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share