Synonym Chooser

How is the word surreptitious distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of surreptitious are clandestine, covert, furtive, secret, stealthy, and underhanded. While all these words mean "done without attracting observation," 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

When would clandestine be a good substitute for surreptitious?

The synonyms clandestine and surreptitious are sometimes interchangeable, but clandestine implies secrecy usually for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose and often emphasizes the fear of being discovered.

a clandestine meeting of conspirators

In what contexts can covert take the place of surreptitious?

While the synonyms covert and surreptitious are close in meaning, covert stresses the fact of not being open or declared.

covert intelligence operations

When might furtive be a better fit than surreptitious?

While in some cases nearly identical to surreptitious, furtive implies a sly or cautious stealthiness.

lovers exchanging furtive glances

Where would secret be a reasonable alternative to surreptitious?

The meanings of secret and surreptitious largely overlap; however, secret implies concealment on any grounds for any motive.

met at a secret location

When could stealthy be used to replace surreptitious?

The words stealthy and surreptitious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, stealthy suggests taking pains to avoid being seen or heard especially in some misdoing.

the stealthy step of a burglar

When is underhanded a more appropriate choice than surreptitious?

The words underhanded and surreptitious can be used in similar contexts, but underhanded stresses fraud or deception.

an underhanded trick

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 surreptitious There’s nothing surreptitious about my administration. Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2025 Reporters from around the country followed the case, which marked the first time ever that prosecutors would play for a jury a surreptitious FBI recording of mob soldiers taking the oath of omerta during a mafia initiation ceremony. Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2025 For example: In 2003, a group of Providence, Rhode Island, artists embarked on a project combining installation art and surreptitious living arrangements. Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2025 The first surreptitious shots of Robbie in costume, however, lit up the internet anew. Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for surreptitious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreptitious
Adjective
  • Party leaders could reveal what their rivals were cooking up and reporters could penetrate clandestine deal-making through sources.
    Dan Walters, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Nic Carter, a crypto venture capitalist, then coined the term Operation Choke Point 2.0, referring to an Obama administration clandestine operation to debank undesirable industries including firearms dealers and payday lenders in the early 2010s.
    Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • In it, deaf canteen employee Alison Brooks (Rose Ayling-Ellis) lands an under-the-table gig as a covert lip reader for the police and finagles her way into the apex of an upcoming heist operation.
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Reports have long suggested that Iran has increasingly engaged in covert malign behavior to target foreign citizens.
    Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2025
Adjective
  • He is aided by Yasir Abbas, a weapons specialist; Raghuveer Singh, a sniper who served in Kashmir and Tawang; Uday Bhan, an explosives expert; and Sukhbir Singh, an Indian agent undercover in Pakistan posing as a Karachi stockbroker.
    Time, Time, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Wednesday’s hearing before Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins in downtown Minneapolis focused on several motions from Eichorn, including one to drop the charges and for the defense to be able to call the undercover officer who posed as a 17-year-old girl to testify.
    Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Members of the Edinburg Fire Department rescue a man trapped in an underground septic tank on a rural property in Texas.
    Daniel Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Tunneling too close to the river could risk breaching the water table and filling a karst formation, or underground cave — potentially triggering leaks of construction materials into the waterway.
    Stuart Dyos, Nashville Tennessean, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Webb Institute Webb Institute Source: Webb Institute Founded by the shipbuilder William Webb, this small, private college in Glen Cove, New York specializes in naval architecture and marine engineering.
    Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2025
  • Its members include defense attorneys and prosecutors, public interest lawyers and private practitioners, judges, and law firm attorneys.
    Muhammad U. Faridi, New York Daily News, 17 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Surreptitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreptitious. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

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