surreptitious

adjective

sur·​rep·​ti·​tious ˌsər-əp-ˈti-shəs How to pronounce surreptitious (audio)
ˌsə-rəp-,
sə-ˌrep-
1
: done, made, or acquired by stealth : clandestine
2
: acting or doing something clandestinely : stealthy
a surreptitious glance
surreptitiously adverb
Choose the Right Synonym for surreptitious

secret, covert, stealthy, furtive, clandestine, surreptitious, underhanded mean done without attracting observation.

secret implies concealment on any grounds for any motive.

met at a secret location

covert stresses the fact of not being open or declared.

covert intelligence operations

stealthy suggests taking pains to avoid being seen or heard especially in some misdoing.

the stealthy step of a burglar

furtive implies a sly or cautious stealthiness.

lovers exchanging furtive glances

clandestine implies secrecy usually for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose and often emphasizes the fear of being discovered.

a clandestine meeting of conspirators

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

underhanded stresses fraud or deception.

an underhanded trick

Examples of surreptitious in a Sentence

The letter didn't offer up the jewels, only shadowy suggestions about their disappearance, claiming that [heiress, Carolyn] Skelly, in a surreptitious trading of parcels with "a man in an ankle-length tweed overcoat," had left a bag full of jewelry on the floor at J.F.K. Mark Seal, Vanity Fair, December 2001
In the early evening as we gathered in the lobby beneath mounted elk heads and bear skins, the lights of the chandelier flickered mysteriously. But the teacher and I both spied the surreptitious action of the desk clerk, whose sheepish smile acknowledged that one brief hotel mystery had been solved. Other signs of pranking there included a "ghost" photo (displayed in a lobby album) that the clerk confided to me was staged, and some pennies, placed on the back of a men's room toilet, that from time to time would secretly become rearranged to form messages—like the word "why?" that I encountered. Joe Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2000
The next week offered [FBI agent] Wiser the opportunity he had been waiting for. Ames was leaving the country, going to Ankara for a weeklong international conference on drugs. Wiser went to Bryant for permission to run a … surreptitious search of Ames' garbage. But the chief was dead set against it. Tim Weiner et al., Rolling Stone, 29 June 1995
She had a surreptitious relationship with her employee. a private investigator adept at taking surreptitious pictures of adulterous couples
Recent Examples on the Web Europe is trying to tame a supply chain that’s fractured, low-tech, disorderly and rife for abuse by thousands of small farmers and surreptitious middlemen. Mumbi Gitau, Fortune Europe, 27 Feb. 2024 And Alabama law enforcement has a history of surreptitious drug testing and charging pregnant women with endangering their fetuses if results come back positive. Tim Craig, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2024 The minor victims allegedly depicted in the surreptitious recordings were seven, nine, 11 and 14 years old at the time. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 18 Jan. 2024 In the hopes of obtaining a surreptitious DNA sample. Natalie Morales, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2023 Arrests of people taking surreptitious photography - including of underage athletes in changing rooms, up women’s skirts or at bathhouses - have increased in recent years. Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Julia Mio Inuma, Anchorage Daily News, 16 June 2023 Timothy Savage, 39, was booked on five counts of voyeurism; five counts of surreptitious photography, videotaping, filming or digitally recording of viewing; and four counts of surreptitious photography, videotaping, filming or digitally recording or viewing, according to Surprise Police. Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2023 Not just the obvious ones like breads and pastas, but the surreptitious ones, too. Alison Myers, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2023 Best still, surreptitious charges might be outlawed at a Federal level, at least if the Junk Fee Prevention Act comes into law. Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 24 Aug. 2023

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin surrepticius, from surreptus, past participle of surripere to snatch secretly, from sub- + rapere to seize — more at rapid

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of surreptitious was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near surreptitious

Cite this Entry

“Surreptitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surreptitious. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

surreptitious

adjective
sur·​rep·​ti·​tious ˌsər-əp-ˈtish-əs How to pronounce surreptitious (audio)
ˌsə-rəp-
: done, made, or acquired in secret
surreptitiously adverb
surreptitiousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on surreptitious

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