furtive · adj — of a thing: done with evasive or guilty secrecy. It carries an Arena rating of 1900, earned across 49 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, furtive ranks #104 of 43,225 for Qualifying, #411 of 17,162 for Most Elegant Words, #785 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,512 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words.
furtive is pronounced /ˈfɜːtɪv/.
Why “furtive” is a great word
Done with evasive or guilty secrecy; stealthy and sly. From Middle English (implied in *furtyvely*), from Middle French *furtif*, *furtive*, from Latin *fūrtīvus* ("clandestine, secret; stolen"), from *fūrtum* ("theft") (from *fūr*, "thief") + *-īvus* (adjective-forming suffix). Unlike "surreptitious," which emphasizes the method of concealment, or "stealthy," which focuses on quiet tact, "furtive" carries the weight of the conscience—it is the actor's own awareness of wrongdoing that stains the action. It is the sidelong glance before pocketing a pen, the hunched shoulders of a man lighting a cigarette in the stairwell, the brush of fingers passing a note beneath a table—the anatomy of a bad conscience made visible in the smallest, most telling motions. The word itself is a stolen thing, bearing the scent of guilt and the warmth of a secret too heavy to bear.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English *furtyve (implied in furtyvely (adverb)), from Middle French furtif, furtive (“furtive, stealthy”) (modern French furtif), from Latin fūrtīvus (“clandestine, furtive, secret; concealed, hidden; stolen”), from fūrtum (“theft; robbery”) (from fūr (“thief”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives).
adj
- Of a thing: done with evasive or guilty secrecy.
- Of a thing: that has been acquired by theft; stolen; also (generally) taken stealthily.
- Of a person or an animal: sly, stealthy.e.g.“All women have their foibles. Wise husbands must bear and forbear. Is that all? wherefore, then, is her aspect so furtive, wherefore on his a wild, vigilant sternness?” — 1857, Pisistratus Caxton [pseudonym; Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter V, in What will He Do with It? (Collection of British Authors; CCCCXL), Tauchnitz edition, volume III, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz,
- Of a person, etc.: inclined to steal; pilfering, thieving.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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