SURREPTITIOUSLY Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

surreptitiously

adverb

as in stealthily

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar 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 surreptitiously Instead, the technology is surreptitiously marketing authoritarian political narratives to policy makers, scholars, and readers around the world. — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026 As a group of dancers surrounded her on the B-stage, she was surreptitiously harnessed into a rig that carried her aloft, limp yet belting, into the heavens, or at least into what looked like a UFO hovering over the arena. — Chris Willman, Variety, 7 June 2026 Gray-hat hackers, unlike white-hats, surreptitiously sneak into corporate systems to find security vulnerabilities. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026 Scammers can create an AI replica of someone’s voice using a short recording of their speech — often pulled from social media or an earlier scam call that was surreptitiously recorded. — Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 29 May 2026 Brown raised Boyne’s bond, leading to his incarceration, after Boyne surreptitiously photographed a prosecution document in court and shared it with other sympathetic bloggers. — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 26 May 2026 Haslach also admitted to surreptitiously taking a photo of a minor in a swimsuit by positioning his cellphone under a classroom desk. — Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 1 May 2026 Sometimes the batteries on the trackers would run low, and McGovern’s team would need to remove and recharge the devices, before surreptitiously replacing them. — Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026 Rarely before has a name so perfectly captured the look and feel of an endeavor that has, almost surreptitiously, dug its way into a space where it’s not supposed to be. — Carl Juste, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreptitiously

Adverb

Damon can be as crisp an orator as any actor now working, but his performance here reminds you why Jason Bourne, moving stealthily through a crowd like a sheathed dagger, remains one of his defining roles.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
The noble consort takes the empress’s place, smirking, and stealthily pushes her down the stairs when no one is watching.

— Lavender Au, The Dial, 30 June 2026

Definition of stealthily

Adverb

At the combine, as executives and scouts furrowed their brows and furtively took notes, Mann and I stood on the concourse, watching team personnel watch prospects work out.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
Unlike Monday's burial for Princess Irene, which follows a Saturday prayer service in Madrid and a funeral Monday at Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, the Tatoi interment for Sofia's mother, Queen Federica of Greece, was not official, and took place almost furtively.

— Diego Parrado, Vanity Fair, 18 Jan. 2026

Definition of furtively

Adverb

Reddit published an update this week outlining steps to curb spam, bot activity and inauthentic content—but the news arrives alongside reports of brands using Reddit to covertly manipulate what AI search tools like ChatGPT and others say about them.

— Cody Luongo, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
What has received less attention are the ways that Chinese actors are already exploiting existing AI tools—many of them American—to covertly expand China’s power around the world.

— Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026

Definition of covertly

Adverb

The state, in partnership with the federal government, built the camp quickly and secretively and opened it in July.

— Eve Samples, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026
Early modern Europe was not an ideal place to enforce intellectual property rights, which in those days existed only when technologies could be secretively monopolized by a guild.

— Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017

Definition of secretively

Adverb

Soon afterward, social media commenters were speculating about whether Sierra broke into the office or was caught clandestinely shredding documents.

— Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2026
This great disparity between reality and story, truth and history, takes on new dimensions when Robin clandestinely takes refuge at an island priory where Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer) tends to his wounds.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 June 2026

Definition of clandestinely

Browse Nearby Words

surreptitious

surreptitiously

surrey

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Surreptitiously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreptitiously. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of surreptitiously

adverb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on surreptitiously

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

maverick

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes