Furtive — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed

secret and sly or sordid; ; - A.L.Guerard

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/fˈɜːɾɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/fˈɜːtɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/fˈɜːtɪv/

2 syllables Say it as /fˈɜːɾɪv/.

Examples

a furtive manner
a sneak attack
stealthy footsteps

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

sneak stealthy backstair surreptitious sneaky backstairs

Parts of Speech

adjective	marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed “a furtive manner”
adjective	secret and sly or sordid; ; - A.L.Guerard “backstairs gossip”

Word Forms

furtiveness	noun	a disposition to be sly and stealthy and to do things surreptitiously
sneak	noun	a person who is regarded as underhanded and furtive and contemptible
sneakiness	noun	a disposition to be sly and stealthy and to do things surreptitiously
stealth	noun	avoiding detection by moving carefully
stealthiness	noun	a disposition to be sly and stealthy and to do things surreptitiously

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

verstohlen

geprägt von Ruhe, Vorsicht und Geheimhaltung; sich Mühe geben, nicht beobachtet zu werden

🇫🇷French

furtif

marqué par le calme, la prudence et le secret ; prendre soin d'éviter d'être observé

🇪🇸Spanish

furtivo

marcado por la tranquilidad, la precaución y el secreto; esforzándose por evitar ser observado

🇮🇹Italian

furtivo

segnato dalla quiete, dalla cautela e dalla segretezza; facendo di tutto per evitare di essere osservato

🇳🇱Dutch

heimelijk

gekenmerkt door rust, voorzichtigheid en geheimhouding; moeite doen om niet opgemerkt te worden

🇵🇹Portuguese

furtivo

marcado pela calma, cautela e sigilo; tomando cuidado para evitar ser observado

🇷🇺Russian

тайный

отмечен тишиной, осторожностью и секретностью; прилагать все усилия, чтобы избежать наблюдения

India

🇮🇳Hindi

चुराया हुआ

शांति और सावधानी और गोपनीयता द्वारा चिह्नित; नज़र से बचने के लिए कष्ट उठाना

🇧🇩Bengali

গোপন

শান্ত এবং সতর্কতা এবং গোপনীয়তা দ্বারা চিহ্নিত; পর্যবেক্ষণ করা এড়াতে ব্যথা গ্রহণ

🇮🇳Tamil

உல்லாசமான

அமைதியான மற்றும் எச்சரிக்கை மற்றும் இரகசியம் மூலம் குறிக்கப்பட்டது; கவனிக்கப்படுவதைத் தவிர்க்க வலி எடுத்துக்கொள்வது

🇮🇳Telugu

దొంగచాటుగా

నిశ్శబ్ద మరియు జాగ్రత్త మరియు గోప్యతతో గుర్తించబడింది; గమనించబడకుండా ఉండటానికి నొప్పులు తీసుకోవడం

🇮🇳Marathi

गुप्त

शांत आणि सावधगिरी आणि गुप्तता द्वारे चिन्हांकित; निरीक्षण टाळण्यासाठी वेदना घेणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ભ્રષ્ટ

શાંત અને સાવધાની અને ગુપ્તતા દ્વારા ચિહ્નિત; અવલોકન ટાળવા માટે પીડા લેવી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಳ್ಳತನದ

ಸ್ತಬ್ಧ ಮತ್ತು ಎಚ್ಚರಿಕೆ ಮತ್ತು ಗೌಪ್ಯತೆಯಿಂದ ಗುರುತಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ; ಗಮನಿಸುವುದನ್ನು ತಪ್ಪಿಸಲು ನೋವು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഒളിച്ചുകളിക്കുന്ന

ശാന്തവും ജാഗ്രതയും രഹസ്യവും കൊണ്ട് അടയാളപ്പെടുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നു; നിരീക്ഷിക്കപ്പെടാതിരിക്കാൻ വേദനയെടുക്കുന്നു

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਭਗੌੜਾ

ਸ਼ਾਂਤ ਅਤੇ ਸਾਵਧਾਨੀ ਅਤੇ ਗੁਪਤਤਾ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹਿਤ; ਦੇਖੇ ਜਾਣ ਤੋਂ ਬਚਣ ਲਈ ਦਰਦ ਲੈਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

چوری کرنے والا

خاموشی اور احتیاط اور رازداری سے نشان زد؛ مشاہدہ سے بچنے کے لیے درد لینا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

鬼鬼祟祟

以安静、谨慎和保密为特征；尽力避免被观察

🇯🇵Japanese

こっそり

静かさと用心深さと秘密が特徴です。観察されるのを避けるために苦労している

🇰🇷Korean

몰래 하는

조용하고 조심스럽고 비밀이 특징입니다. 감시당하지 않으려고 애쓰는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lén lút

được đánh dấu bằng sự yên tĩnh, thận trọng và bí mật; cố gắng tránh bị quan sát

🇹🇭Thai

แอบแฝง

ทำเครื่องหมายด้วยความเงียบและความระมัดระวังและเป็นความลับ ทนทุกข์ทรมานเพื่อไม่ให้ถูกสังเกต

🇮🇩Indonesian

sembunyi

ditandai dengan ketenangan dan kehati-hatian serta kerahasiaan; bersusah payah agar tidak diperhatikan

🇵🇭Filipino

palihim

minarkahan ng tahimik at pag-iingat at lihim; nagpapakahirap para hindi mapansin

🇲🇾Malay

bersembunyi

ditandai dengan tenang dan berhati-hati dan kerahsiaan; bersusah payah untuk mengelak daripada diperhatikan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

ماكر

يتسم بالهدوء والحذر والسرية؛ بذل قصارى جهده لتجنب مراقبته

🇮🇷Persian

مخفیانه

با سکوت و احتیاط و رازداری مشخص شده است. درد کشیدن برای اجتناب از مشاهده

🇹🇷Turkish

sinsi

sessizlik, ihtiyat ve gizlilikle işaretlenmiş; gözlemlenmemek için çaba harcamak

🇮🇱Hebrew

גנב

מסומן בשקט ובזהירות ובסודיות; מקפידים להימנע מלהיות נצפים

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'furtive'?

The primary meaning of 'furtive' is 'marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'furtive' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'furtive' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'furtive' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'furtive' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'furtive' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'furtive' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'furtive' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'furtive' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'furtive' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'furtive' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted