sneakier; sneakiest
: marked by stealth, furtiveness, or shiftiness
a sneaky trick
sneakily adverb
sneakiness noun

Examples of sneaky in a Sentence

They make it look like you're getting a lot more than you really are. It's a sneaky trick. It's a sneaky way of getting people to buy something they don't need.
Recent Examples on the Web Belos Chunky Platform Lace-Up Sneakers The Belos Chunky Platform Lace-Up Sneakers have a very functional and super sneaky detail — black rubber soles. Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024 Shrinking itself is captured in official inflation data, but another sneaky force that costs consumers is getting missed in the statistics. Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 The duo will be guided as always by their trusty friend Map while trying to overcome any obstacles thrown their way by Swiper, that sneaky fox. Staff Author, Parents, 26 Feb. 2024 With ballots out and campaign season in full swing, many Californians have picked up on a sneaky strategy by Rep. Adam Schiff’s Senate campaign to ease his path to succeed the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 12 Feb. 2024 Some people would rather be sneaky, go behind people's backs. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 6 Dec. 2023 Too much bait dangling past the hook point allows sneaky bluegill to steal bait without getting hooked. David A. Brown, Field & Stream, 28 Feb. 2024 The use of words like understands, thinks, and reasons are all subtle and sneaky ways to lead you down a primrose path to believing that contemporary AI is sentient. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 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. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 17 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sneaky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sneaky was in 1833

Dictionary Entries Near sneaky

Cite this Entry

“Sneaky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sneaky. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sneaky

adjective
sneakier; sneakiest
1
: behaving in a sly or secret manner
2
: marked by secrecy or slyness
a sneaky trick
sneakily adverb
sneakiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sneaky

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