surreptitious

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities
US /səˌɹɛpˈtɪʃəs/ UK /ˌsʌɹɪpˈtɪʃəs/
adj Freq #90569

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    Done secretly to avoid being noticed.

    She took a surreptitious glance at her phone during the meeting.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · done secretly to avoid... covertfurtive

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin surrēptīcius (“furtive, clandestine”), from surrēpō (“to creep along”).

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