surreptitious
adjective
sur·rep·ti·tious
ˌsər-əp-ˈti-shəs 
ˌsə-rəp-,
sə-ˌrep-
1
: done, made, or acquired by stealth : clandestine
2
: acting or doing something clandestinely : stealthy
a surreptitious glance
surreptitiously
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of surreptitious in a Sentence
The letter didn't offer up the jewels, only shadowy suggestions about their disappearance, claiming that [heiress, Carolyn] Skelly, in a surreptitious trading of parcels with "a man in an ankle-length tweed overcoat," had left a bag full of jewelry on the floor at J.F.K.
—
Mark Seal, Vanity Fair, December 2001
In the early evening as we gathered in the lobby beneath mounted elk heads and bear skins, the lights of the chandelier flickered mysteriously. But the teacher and I both spied the surreptitious action of the desk clerk, whose sheepish smile acknowledged that one brief hotel mystery had been solved. Other signs of pranking there included a "ghost" photo (displayed in a lobby album) that the clerk confided to me was staged, and some pennies, placed on the back of a men's room toilet, that from time to time would secretly become rearranged to form messages—like the word "why?" that I encountered.
—Joe Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2000
The next week offered [FBI agent] Wiser the opportunity he had been waiting for. Ames was leaving the country, going to Ankara for a weeklong international conference on drugs. Wiser went to Bryant for permission to run a … surreptitious search of Ames' garbage. But the chief was dead set against it.
—Tim Weiner et al., Rolling Stone, 29 June 1995
She had a surreptitious relationship with her employee.
a private investigator adept at taking surreptitious pictures of adulterous couples
Mark Seal, Vanity Fair, December 2001
In the early evening as we gathered in the lobby beneath mounted elk heads and bear skins, the lights of the chandelier flickered mysteriously. But the teacher and I both spied the surreptitious action of the desk clerk, whose sheepish smile acknowledged that one brief hotel mystery had been solved. Other signs of pranking there included a "ghost" photo (displayed in a lobby album) that the clerk confided to me was staged, and some pennies, placed on the back of a men's room toilet, that from time to time would secretly become rearranged to form messages—like the word "why?" that I encountered.
—Joe Nickell, Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2000
The next week offered [FBI agent] Wiser the opportunity he had been waiting for. Ames was leaving the country, going to Ankara for a weeklong international conference on drugs. Wiser went to Bryant for permission to run a … surreptitious search of Ames' garbage. But the chief was dead set against it.
—Tim Weiner et al., Rolling Stone, 29 June 1995
She had a surreptitious relationship with her employee.
a private investigator adept at taking surreptitious pictures of adulterous couples
Recent Examples on the Web
Not to mention the scourge of every bookstore: surreptitious photo-snappers who later shopped online.
—Elisabeth Egan Chase Castor, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Authorities across the nation have also used genealogy testing and surreptitious DNA collection to solve other cold cases over the last few years.
—Sarah Nelson, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for surreptitious 
Elisabeth Egan Chase Castor, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Authorities across the nation have also used genealogy testing and surreptitious DNA collection to solve other cold cases over the last few years.
—Sarah Nelson, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for surreptitious
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'surreptitious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near surreptitious
Cite this Entry
“Surreptitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surreptitious. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
surreptitious
adjective
sur·rep·ti·tious
ˌsər-əp-ˈtish-əs
ˌsə-rəp-
: done, made, or acquired in secret
surreptitiously
adverb
surreptitiousness
noun
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