surreptitiouslyadv.
In a surreptitious manner.† c. Spuriously. Obsolete.
a. By ‘surreption’: see surreptitious adj.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > sneakiness > [adverb]
creepingly1548
surreptiously1573
surreptitiously1587
society > morality > moral evil > lack of principle or integrity > [adverb] > dishonestly
falsely1303
naughtily1553
surreptiously1573
surreptitiously1587
dishonestlya1616
crookedlya1639
1587–8 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1881) 1st Ser. IV. 260 [Having been] previlie and surreptitiouslie [obtained].
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 95 The reasons..were falsely, and surreptitiously suggested to His Holiness.
1689 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 258 Certain decrees and Orders surreptitiously obtained by Thomas Wollaston.
1823 J. Lingard Hist. Eng. VI. 179 The dispensation..was said..to have been surreptitiously obtained.
1834 G. Bancroft Hist. U.S. I. x. 440 To revoke any charter which had been surreptitiously obtained.
b. In an underhand way; secretly and without authority; clandestinely, by stealth, ‘on the sly’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > [adverb]
softlyc1225
by stalea1240
privilya1250
slylyc1275
thieflyc1290
stealingly13..
by stealth1390
stalworthlya1400
theftfullyc1400
theftlyc1400
theftuouslyc1400
under veilc1425
thievishly?c1450
by theft1488
quietly1488
furtively1490
by surreption1526
hugger-muggera1529
in hugger-mugger1529
underhand1538
insidiously1545
creepingly1548
surreptiously1573
underboard1582
filchingly1583
sneakingly1598
underwater1600
slipperily1603
thief-likea1625
clandestinely1632
surreptitiously1643
thievously1658
clancularly1699
stownlins1786
stealthily1806
underhandedly1806
stolen-wise1813
on (upon, under, or by) the sly1818
round-the-corner1820
underhanded1823
stealthfully1828
slinkingly1830
slippingly1830
on the sneak?1863
sneakishly1867
behind backs1874
stalkingly1891
on the side1893
under the counter1926
underground1935
under the table1938
down and dirty1959
sneakily1966
1643 Sir T. Browne (title) A true and full coppy of that which was most imperfectly and Surreptitiously printed before vnder the name of Religio Medici.
1648 D. Jenkins Wks. 45 Which confutes their saying that the King got the Seale away surreptitiously.
1656 A. Cowley Misc. Pref., in Poems Either surreptitiously before, or avowedly after my death.
1710 R. Steele & J. Addison Tatler No. 259. ⁋1 Surreptitiously taking away the Hassock from under Lady Grave-Airs.
1865 Athenæum 28 June 124/2 James Duke begins the world as an anonymous infant, laid surreptitiously in a basket of clean linen.
1871 S. Smiles Character x. 272 She carried it to church..in the guise of a missal, and read it surreptitiously during the service.
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar viii. 87 The proscription was over, and the list had been closed; but Roscius's name was surreptitiously entered upon it.
1898 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Roden's Corner xvi. 174 She surreptitiously touched the animal with her heel.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > forgery, falsification > [adverb]
bastardly1566
unauthentically1602
adulterately1604
imitably1616
suppositiously1660
surreptitiously1680
spuriously1845
inauthentically1965
1680 London Gaz. No. 1556/4 That the Book..is falsly, and surreptitiously Ascrib'd to that worthy Person.
Derivatives
surrepˈtitiousness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > [noun] > stealthy quality, stealthiness
insidiousnessa1677
clandestinity1682
sneakingnessa1691
subtleness1833
stealthiness1837
underhandedness1884
slinkiness1894
furtiveness1896
surreptitiousness1902
1902 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Vultures xxix. 258 The quietness of the streets had a suggestion of surreptitiousness.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1918; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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adv.1587