shifty

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   appearing dishonest, evasive, or untrustworthy

   The witness gave a shifty answer and refused to meet the lawyer's eyes.

2. 2
   adj

   moving or changing position restlessly and repeatedly

   His shifty gaze moved from the locked door to the open window.

Formed from shift + -y. Earlier uses described something changeable, resourceful, or liable to shift. In the nineteenth century, restless movement, especially of the eyes, encouraged the now-dominant sense "evasive or untrustworthy."

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