shiftyshift‧y /ˈʃɪfti/ adjective informal 
He looks a bit shifty to me. shifty eyes—shiftily adverb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a shifty, fast-talking lawyer
- There's something shifty about that guy.
- A thin, elegant man with shifty eyes and a high, unpleasant voice, Wood exuded a restless, hurried air.
- But a shifty, rather criminal smirk, lingered in her eyes.
- His only chance is to outsmart Koch's crew in shifty winds.
- She regarded him suspiciously, but couldn't find anything shifty about him.
- The plot gets muddied with the whose-been-sleeping-with-whom scenario and much shifty eye gazing.
- There were tough groups from Alabama, shifty men from New York, all kinds from all over.
THESAURUSseeming to be dishonest
if someone or something seems suspicious, they make you think that something dishonest or illegal is happening: · The police are treating the boy’s death as suspicious.
if something seems dubious, you think it may not be completely true, right, or honest: · He has a rather dubious reputation.· It all sounds highly dubious to me.· the country’s dubious record on human rights
shady business deals or people seem to be dishonest or connected with secret and illegal activities: · Several senior members of the party had been involved in shady deals.· a shady character
someone who looks shifty looks as if they are doing or planning something dishonest: · The man on the market stall looked a bit shifty when he gave me my change.
British English informal probably dishonest and not to be trusted – used especially to say that you do not want to be involved with someone or something: · There’s something a bit dodgy about him.· dodgy business deals
Longman Language Activatorwhen someone or something seems dishonest use this about behaviour or a situation that makes you think that someone is doing something dishonest: · It all seems very suspicious to me. Where did he get all that money from?· The circumstances surrounding McBain's death are suspicious.· He glanced around, satisfied that nobody was taking any notice of his suspicious behaviour, then opened the door.suspicious-looking: · There was a suspicious-looking man standing in a doorway across the street.
use this to describe business deals or the people involved in them, when they seem dishonest or illegal, especially because the business is secret: · His acceptance of an interest-free £125,000 loan from a shady businessman looks suspicious to say the least.shady deal: · He has been mixed up in a number of shady deals in the Cayman Islands.
someone who is shifty looks or behaves as if they are doing or planning something dishonest: · There's something shifty about that guy.· a shifty, fast-talking lawyer
British informal probably dishonest, although you are not sure of the facts - use this especially to say that you do not want to be involved with someone or something: · Don't buy a car from him, he's a real dodgy character.· The whole thing looks distinctly dodgy to me.
use this about someone's behaviour or a business arrangement that does not seem completely right or correct, so that you think it is probably dishonest: · He had been involved in some questionable business activities at one time.· Marantz resigned after discovering that dubious business deals were being negotiated by his fellow officials.highly dubious/questionable: · The whole deal seems highly dubious to me.
informal use this about someone you think is doing or planning something dishonest, even though you do not know exactly what it is: · If you ask me, that husband of hers is up to no good.· Anyone waiting around on street corners at night must be up to no good.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He looks a bit shifty to me.
looking dishonest: He looks a bit shifty to me. He looks a bit shifty to me. shifty eyes—shiftily adverb