sneaking 1 of 2

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sneaking

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verb

present participle of sneak
1
as in lurking
to move about in a sly or secret manner the little kids sneak around upstairs when they're supposed to be in bed

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
as in infiltrating
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way sneak the topic into the conversation any way you can

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 sneaking
Adjective
The package includes free breakfast for your plus-one (no more sneaking snacks away from the conference), a signature drink each night (perfect for unwinding after your workday ends), and 1,000 bonus IHG One Rewards points. Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 23 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sneaking
Adjective
  • Gates has three ecosystems on her quarter-acre: a sunny front yard, a shady back plot and a small wetland garden on one side.
    USA Today, USA Today, 16 May 2025
  • The fear this instills in I-Jing — already ignored by her busy mother, nor attended to by her mercurial older sister, I-Ann, who holds a grudge against her mother and rebels by working at a shady betel nut stand — sets off a secrets-unearthing chain of events.
    Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • As holidays go, however, Flag Day can feel a bit lame.
    Kevin Fisher-Paulson, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2021
  • My 11-year-old loved watching the pups roll balls and play a giant floor piano, but for non-dog owners (guilty as charged), parts of the series—like dressing dogs in little hats and outfits for a Parisian fashion show—feel lame.
    Tim Neville, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2020
Verb
  • More than a few crumbs could be lurking in the darkest, deepest recesses of your pantry.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2025
  • This isn't enough to completely rule out the possibility of any more small planets that might be lurking in the habitable zone.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • And law enforcement agencies started surveilling and infiltrating Muslim communities across the United States.
    Abdallah Fayyad, Vox, 27 Mar. 2025
  • An Army veteran police officer was killed in a shootout during an operational crackdown on transnational drug trafficking organizations infiltrating illicit drugs into the United States, California officials said Wednesday.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The line that the AI isn’t forming a personal opinion is a kind of sneaky subterfuge.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
  • This one had a sneaky flavor booster—Dijon mustard.
    Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 6 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, combed the Poles’ ranks in search of men with experience in clandestine resistance organizations.
    Paul Hockenos, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025
  • Gaddafi agreed to suspend his country's nuclear weapons program in December 2003, following years of clandestine negotiations that began during the Clinton administration and continued under George W. Bush.
    Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
Adjective
  • Coal plants are also the dirtiest fossil fuel in terms of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions.
    Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
  • They were bullied, beaten, humiliated, tortured and shot, with productive laborers crammed on top of one another in the dirty stone barracks—separately from the Jewish prisoners, whose numbers grew ever larger.
    Paul Hockenos, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025
Verb
  • Harrison took Georgia’s second-half kickoff all the way to the end zone, slipping a tackle near the middle of the field, cutting toward the right sideline and outrunning everyone.
    Brett Martel, The Denver Post, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Richardson failed at the first one; nailed the second, and was slipping on #3.
    Scott Powers, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Sneaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sneaking. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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