furtiveadjective
uk/ˈfɜː.tɪv/us/ˈfɝː.t̬ɪv/(of people) behaving secretly and often dishonestly, or (of actions) done secretly and often dishonestly:
I saw him cast a furtive glance at the woman at the table to his right.
He made one or two furtive phone calls.
There was something furtive about his behaviour and I immediately felt suspicious.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Secrecy and privacy
- anonymity
- anonymize
- anonymous
- backroom
- backstage
- counsel
- dissimulate
- dissimulation
- entre nous
- executive privilege
- gatepost
- lid
- lip
- privately
- privileged
- sanctum
- secrecy
- secret
- skeleton
- sweep
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furtively
adverb uk/ˈfɜː.tɪv.li/us/ˈfɝː.t̬ɪv.li/
As she turned away I saw him sniff furtively under his arm.
furtiveness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈfɜː.tɪv.nəs/us/ˈfɝː.t̬ɪv.nəs/