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Definition of "furtive" []

  • Characterized by stealth; surreptitious. (adjective)
  • Expressive of hidden motives or purposes; shifty. See Synonyms at secret. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "furtive" in a sentence
  • "She must have heard my steps on the wood stairs, because by the time I walked through the door, she was sitting on the floor near the bed, looking at me with an expression of furtive innocence."
  • "Every now and then, a sister slid grey and furtive from the side gate to hand over coins to buy not acarajé but a pink-and-white striped bag bulging with peeled chunks of sugar cane."
  • "Re-search Department at the Foreign Office, and engaged in furtive adulteries."