surreptitious
adjective
Synonyms
- backstairs
- behind-the-scenes
- clandestine
- covert
- furtive
- hole-and-corner
- hugger-mugger
- hush-hush
- private
- privy
- secret
- sneak
- sneaking
- sneaky
- stealth
- stealthy
- undercover
- underground
- underhand
- underhanded
Example Sentences
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 WIRED, 3 Sep. 2022 Writer Plum Sykes, another neighbor, drove past and took a surreptitious picture for Brooks and Halard back in the States. Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 30 Aug. 2022 Tripp doesn’t see herself as a villain, particularly in the early moments of her surreptitious recordings of the private phone calls between herself and Lewinsky. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Aug. 2022 The far heavier-than-expected losses of personnel and equipment quickly prompted the military leadership to seek the help of Wagner mercenaries hardened by years of surreptitious fighting in Donbas and Syria and in other far-flung locations. Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2022 About 15 videos of surreptitious recordings were found in Kocak's phone, according to the documents. Angela Cordoba Perez, The Arizona Republic, 8 Aug. 2022 Cameras and cellphones are strictly prohibited inside, although one guy smuggled in some sort of surreptitious body cam a couple years ago and posted a rare peak inside on YouTube. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2022 Among them is one verity that sets the company’s surreptitious nature at the center of its culture. John Archibald | Jarchibald@al.com, al, 3 Aug. 2022 Still, the varied narrative devices and surreptitious construction to preserve the secret for as long as possible deliver an engaging film that will be best enjoyed if one restrains from searching the plot twist online before watching. Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Latin surrepticius, from surreptus, past participle of surripere to snatch secretly, from sub- + rapere to seize — more at rapid
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
surreptitious
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- clandestine
- sneak
- covert
- sneaking
- undercover
- underground
- private
- furtive
- stealth
- sneaky
- stealthy
- underhanded
- backstairs
- secret
- underhand
- hole-and-corner
- undisclosed
- privy
- hush-hush
- behind-the-scenes
- confidential
- hugger-mugger
- hidden
- restricted
- concealed
- secreted
- classified
- subterranean
- off-the-record
- off-the-books
- top secret
- back-channel
- closed-door
- unadvertised
- unexposed
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- overt
- public
- open
- avowed
- straightforward
- acknowledged
- unrestricted
- unconcealed
- undisguised
- obvious
- unclassified
- evident
- clear
- manifest
- plain
- aboveboard
- patent
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of surreptitious are clandestine, covert, furtive, secret, stealthy, and underhanded. While all these words mean "done without attracting observation," surreptitious applies to action or behavior done secretly often with skillful avoidance of detection and in violation of custom, law, or authority.
The synonyms clandestine and surreptitious are sometimes interchangeable, but clandestine implies secrecy usually for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose and often emphasizes the fear of being discovered.
While the synonyms covert and surreptitious are close in meaning, covert stresses the fact of not being open or declared.
While in some cases nearly identical to surreptitious, furtive implies a sly or cautious stealthiness.
The meanings of secret and surreptitious largely overlap; however, secret implies concealment on any grounds for any motive.
The words stealthy and surreptitious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, stealthy suggests taking pains to avoid being seen or heard especially in some misdoing.
The words underhanded and surreptitious can be used in similar contexts, but underhanded stresses fraud or deception.