1
as in shady
given to acting in secret and to concealing one's intentions
a furtive guy who always seems to be up to something, and usually that something is no-good
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clandestine
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others
gave each other furtive glances as we watched our friend open the booby-trapped soda
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of furtive
As a whirlwind rebel offensive encroached on the Syrian capital, Mr. al-Assad’s furtive flight out of Damascus earlier that night took his innermost circle by surprise and became the symbol of his regime’s stunning fall.
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Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Then there was a furtive crunch, crunch, crunch of footsteps.
—Bob Cary, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2025
After an unintended encounter with a furtive woman (Gitte Witt) in cabin 10, the one next to Lo’s, the reporter hears a violent scuffle through the walls, followed by a splash.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2025
Silver might be comforted by the fact that even many liberals who had fled for Bluesky seem to be embracing X-ism once more, creeping back onto the platform with a certain furtive guilt.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for furtive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for furtive
Adjective
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Hikers dip into shady trails lined with thick brush, a favorite path being the Myakka Canopy Walkway, which offers a rare peek into the ecosystems—both minuscule and massive—within the swampy marshland.—
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In several cases, devices sold as simple media streamers appear to quietly turn your home internet connection into part of larger networks used for shady online activity.—
Adjective
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To create this unique cinematic experience, Stewart and Poots endured rigorous trial-and-error shoots, tough training days in clandestine New York pool houses.—
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Saimar Rivas, Armas’s partner and a longtime civil-rights activist, told me that he had been taken to a clandestine site run by the SEBIN, Venezuela’s intelligence agency.—
Adjective
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He's egged on by owner Jonathan Yu—the outward opposite to the roguish tattooed chef and the game-for-anything, sly devil on his shoulder who hides a mischievous heart behind elegant suits.—
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And in a sly anti-AI message, the pet-centric company BARK just released an ad (including on Disney+) that’s directed by a dog, or at least DP’ed by one.—
Adjective
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Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song And the internet has receipts.—
Adjective
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According to The War Zone, shortly after the cargo ship was first spotted with containerized missile systems, large stealthy drones resembling collaborative combat aircraft were seen positioned nearby on the dock.—
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These stealthy insects are expert hitchhikers.—
Adjective
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Danish media reported that at least three people with connections to Trump carried out covert influence operations in Greenland.—
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Federal statute mandates the president inform a bipartisan group of eight, high-ranking members of Congress prior to particularly covert operations.—
Adjective
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Wrought Studio Lawandra Modern Upholstered Swivel Storage Chair To the naked eye, this may seem like a typical upholstered chair, but there’s one sneaky detail that makes a world of difference.—
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Don’t forget to get right into the corners, and cover the ceiling and door seal where sneaky splatters can collect.—
Adjective
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Nine years after foiling a lucrative weapons tradeoff and delivering Roper to Syrian captors, Pine has gone undercover again, eventually reuniting with foreign investigator Angela Burr (Colman) as an MI6 operative.—
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Can the Faithfuls work together or will the Traitors go undercover and pick off the Faithfuls one by one?—
Cite this Entry
“Furtive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/furtive. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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