fur·tive

(fûr′tĭv)

adj.

Characterized by, acting with, or suggesting stealth or a desire to avoid discovery; surreptitious: "J.W. from time to time gave her a furtive squeeze of the hand, but they never got to go out alone any more" (John Dos Passos). See Synonyms at secret.

[French furtif, from Old French, from Latin fūrtīvus, from fūrtum, theft, from fūr, thief; see bher- in Indo-European roots.]

fur′tive·ly adv.

fur′tive·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

furtive

(ˈfɜːtɪv)

adj

characterized by stealth; sly and secretive

[C15: from Latin furtīvus stolen, clandestine, from furtum a theft, from fūr a thief; related to Greek phōr thief]

ˈfurtively adv

ˈfurtiveness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fur•tive

(ˈfɜr tɪv)

adj.

1. taken, done, used, etc., surreptitiously or by stealth; secret: a furtive glance.

2. sly; shifty: a furtive manner.

[1480–90; < Latin furtīvus, derivative of furtum theft]

fur′tive•ly, adv.

fur′tive•ness, n.

furtive

- Someone who is furtive literally "carries things away like a thief."

furtive

adjective sly, secret, hidden, sneaking, covert, cloaked, behind someone's back, secretive, clandestine, sneaky, under-the-table, slinking, conspiratorial, skulking, underhand, surreptitious, stealthy a furtive glance over her shoulder
open, public, frank, straightforward, candid, forthright, undisguised, above-board, unreserved

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

furtive

adjective

1. So slow, deliberate, and secret as to escape observation:

catlike, feline, slinky, sneaking, sneaky, stealthy.

2. Trickily secret:

secretive, sly, sneaking, sneaky, surreptitious.

Translations

خَفي، ماكِر

kradmýtajný

fordækt

verstohlen

furtif clandestin

laumulegur

furtivo circospetto

slepenszaglīgs

geheimgeniepigheimelijk

fordekt stjålen

скрытный

hırsızlamakaçamak

偷偷摸摸的鬼鬼祟祟的

furtive

[ˈfɜːtɪv] ADJ [glance, action] → furtivo; [person] → sospechoso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

furtive

[ˈfɜː^rtɪv] adj [glance, manner] → furtif/ive; [meeting] → furtif/ive

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

furtive

adj action → heimlich; behaviour, person → heimlichtuerisch; (= suspicious) → verdächtig; look → verstohlen; his furtive eyes → sein ausweichender Blick

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

furtive

[ˈfɜːtɪv] adj (glance, action) → furtivo/a; (person) → circospetto/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

furtive

(ˈfəːtiv) adjective

secretive; avoiding attention. a furtive action/look.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Monty's head was wagging feebly and he was casting continually little, furtive glances towards the town.

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I saw young girls stealing furtive glances at her; I saw young men gaze long and absorbedly at her; I saw aged, infirm men hang upon her charms with a pathetic interest.

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But there was some foolishness here; she was come without the knowledge of her husband, as her furtive manner indicated, to a meeting she dreaded and was ashamed to tell him of; she was come into danger; then it must be to save, not herself but him; the folly to be concealed could never have been Mary's.

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Nevertheless, I stole furtive glances behind me now and then to see that no avenging mate, older and bigger than my quarry, was racing up from the rear.

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The next instant he was out, and "going on" like an Indian; yelling, laughing, chasing boys, jumping over the fence at risk of life and limb, throwing handsprings, standing on his head -- doing all the heroic things he could conceive of, and keeping a furtive eye out, all the while, to see if Becky Thatcher was noticing.

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As I stared at them, they met my gaze; and then first one and then another turned away from my direct stare, and looked at me in an odd, furtive manner.

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He was a young man with furtive eyes and a sullen look.

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And with a furtive glance at his son's face, the count went out of the room....

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I think they both cried a little in a furtive manner, while Dorothea ran down-stairs to greet her uncle.

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He stood in the shadow of one of the sheds, looking about him with quick furtive glances, as though anxious to assure himself that there was no one around who was taking a noticeable interest in his movements.

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I have always the strangest feeling that just outside the circle of light, just over its edge in the darkness, I am surrounded by a ring of furtive, sinister things, watching me from the shadows with hostile eyes.

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Henry's inner life had long laid open to her--his intellectual confusion, his obtuseness to personal influence, his strong but furtive passions.

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Adj.	1.	furtive - marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a surreptitious glance at his watch" sneak, stealthy, surreptitious, sneaky concealed - hidden on any grounds for any motive; "a concealed weapon"; "a concealed compartment in his briefcase"
	2.	furtive - secret and sly or sordid; "backstairs gossip"; "his low backstairs cunning"- A.L.Guerard; "backstairs intimacies"; "furtive behavior" backstair, backstairs covert - secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; "covert actions by the CIA"; "covert funding for the rebels"