1
as in shady
given to acting in secret and to concealing one's intentions
his opponent's sneaky campaign manager was clearly up to something
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sneak
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others
a sneaky plan to replace the priceless painting with a copy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sneaky
DeVille suggests—quite fairly—that indie’s poptimist turn was sneaky snobbery, reactions against the popularity of groups like Mumford & Sons.
—
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
The restaurant shut down for the couple that evening, with a few sneaky photos of the pair getting cozy being shared online.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
Combined with contextual background about the audio being captured, WirelessTap could be a handy tool for espionage operations, or other sneaky ways to steal private information.
—Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 22 Aug. 2025
Made with tomatoes and green bell peppers, this Chicken Spaghetti is a sneaky way to make sure little ones enjoy their veggies at dinnertime.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sneaky
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
The restaurant shut down for the couple that evening, with a few sneaky photos of the pair getting cozy being shared online.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
Combined with contextual background about the audio being captured, WirelessTap could be a handy tool for espionage operations, or other sneaky ways to steal private information.
—Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 22 Aug. 2025
Made with tomatoes and green bell peppers, this Chicken Spaghetti is a sneaky way to make sure little ones enjoy their veggies at dinnertime.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sneaky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sneaky
Adjective
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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
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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
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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
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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
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The trio laughed at his sly line of questioning.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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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
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Many wondered how the Packers were able to be all stealthy in nabbing Parsons.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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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
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That provision allows a president to take covert actions as long as Congress is informed.—
Emily Goodin,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Korean Central News Agency/AP What To Know North Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests since 2006, the most recent in 2017.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
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Around a million years ago, a sinkhole opened, turning the Cedar Creek waterway into an underground river.—
Lydia Mansel,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sneaky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sneaky. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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