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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sneaky
The sneaky Sheltie disappeared from the sitter in the March 7 video.
—
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
Though the two would've kept in touch over the years, it would be revealed in episode 2 that the sneaky little brown-noser with a hidden agenda was happily engaged to another woman and expecting his first child.
—Mekishana Pierre Published, EW.com, 11 June 2025
Fraud Detection: No, Elon Musk Is Not Sponsoring You
Some fraud is obvious, but some fraud is sneaky.
—Raghu Para, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
The kitten tries his best to protect his food from the sneaky intruder, and the raccoon does eventually go away, but not before grabbing a pile of the feline's kibble and some of his water.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sneaky
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
Though the two would've kept in touch over the years, it would be revealed in episode 2 that the sneaky little brown-noser with a hidden agenda was happily engaged to another woman and expecting his first child.
—Mekishana Pierre Published, EW.com, 11 June 2025
Fraud Detection: No, Elon Musk Is Not Sponsoring You
Some fraud is obvious, but some fraud is sneaky.
—Raghu Para, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
The kitten tries his best to protect his food from the sneaky intruder, and the raccoon does eventually go away, but not before grabbing a pile of the feline's kibble and some of his water.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sneaky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sneaky
Adjective
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In the back garden, for example, there’s a shady grove with hammocks and low seating that is one of the couple’s favorite places to enjoy quiet moments.—
Katia Contreras,
Architectural Digest,
19 June 2025
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Best Types of Hibiscus for Hummingbirds Hibiscus plants come in a range of options—from native perennials to tropical annuals—all of which attract hummingbirds and are suited for sunny to partly shady spaces, says Myers.—
Anne Readel,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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In a moment of sly genius, Duke gained entry by concealing himself as one of Lyle’s ghostly henchmen using a rubber band and a piece of white tissue as his disguise.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
18 June 2025
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From sly grog shops to speakeasies, people created places to connect and celebrate, even when the world tried to keep them apart.—
Rebecca Styn,
Rolling Stone,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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American veterans and others have traveled to smaller, clandestine clinics for treatment to deal with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
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Gi-hun, who’d found his way back in the clandestine gaming complex (situated inside a mountain on a remote island), is Player 456 again among a new round of contestants.—
Lorraine Ali,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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Fourth-generation aircraft include workhorse attack planes like the F-15 and F-18, while fifth-generation are stealthy, like the Air Force’s most sophisticated plane, the F-22.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
23 June 2025
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Now, scientists writing in Frontiers in Earth Sciences have identified certain characteristics that explain the stealthy nature of Veniaminof and others like it.—
Rosie McCall,
Discover Magazine,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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On June 24, undercover agents attempted to purchase fireworks from Pan.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
30 June 2025
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Conan Edogawa and Detective Kogoro Mouri join the Nagano prefectural police to investigate a break-in at the observatory while uncovering a deeper plot involving undercover agents, betrayal, and vengeance.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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For every regime change at the hands of Americans that went well—think Adolf Hitler’s exit from Germany and Benito Mussolini from Italy—there are multitudes that went off the rails: six overt attempts during the Cold War and another 64 in covert operations.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
19 June 2025
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The Whyte Python World Tour by Travis Kennedy The laughs are as big as the mullets in this rollicking story about a hugely successful hair-metal band that’s really a cover for a covert operation in Cold War-era Eastern Europe.—
Andrea Lavinthal,
People.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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This ambitious project is powered by an army of 432 small robots that are moving the massive structure about 33 feet each day to make way for a new underground development.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
29 June 2025
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his cabinet directed the British war effort during World War II from this secret underground complex.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sneaky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sneaky. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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