furtive
About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.
About Our Definitions: All forms of a word (noun, verb, etc.) are now displayed on one page.fur·tive
adjective \ˈfər-tiv\Definition of FURTIVE
1
a : done by stealth : surreptitious b : expressive of stealth : sly <had a furtive look about him>
See Examples of FURTIVE
- He cast a furtive glance in our direction.
- We exchanged furtive smiles across the table.
- This means that they need use only quantum mechanics or only general relativity and can, with a furtive glance, shrug off the barking admonition of the other. —Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe, 1999
- Fall's pleasures were furtive, risky, short-lived-buckeye fights, … the endless recipes for the apples Mrs. Railsbeck asked him to fetch from the cobwebbed crate in the basement. —Stewart O'Nan, The Names of the Dead, 1996
- … it made Shepherd look furtive, wary, hunted—as if the photographer had shot him against his will, in the act of slamming the door. —Helen Garner, The First Stone, 1995
- [+]more
Origin of FURTIVE
French or Latin; French furtif, from Latin furtivus, from furtum theft, from fur thief, from or akin to Greek phōr thief; akin to Greek pherein to carry — more at bear
First Known Use: 1612
Learn More About FURTIVE
Browse
Seen & Heard 
What made you want to look up furtive? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
