stealth means surreptitious; secret; not openly acknowledged. It carries an Arena rating of 1643, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, stealth ranks #2,340 of 14,361 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,350 of 14,448 for Most Incisive Words, #6,532 of 14,297 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #7,082 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words.
stealth is pronounced /stɛlθ/.
Why “stealth” is a great word
The quality of moving, acting, or proceeding in a deliberate and secretive manner to avoid detection. From Middle English *stelthe*, from Old English *stǣlþ* (theft, stealth), from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō*, derived from *stelaną* ("to steal, to sneak") + the abstract noun suffix *-iþō*, first recorded in English in the mid-13th century. Unlike "furtive," which suggests a nervous, guilty skulking, or "secrecy," which is a passive state of concealment, stealth implies a calculated, tactical art of the imperceptible. It is the predator's silent stalk through moonless grass, the submarine running dark and deep beneath the sonar's ping, the shadow that separates from the wall to become its own entity—the cold, patient application of becoming nothing to gain everything.
Etymology
From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).
adj
- Surreptitious; secret; not openly acknowledged.
- Having properties that diminish radar signatures.
- Hiding one's transgender status (in general or in specific areas of one's life, e.g. at work) after transition.“go stealth; be stealth; live stealth”
noun
- The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
- An act of secrecy, especially one involving thievery.“Claudio.[...] But it chances
The stealth of our most mutuall entertainment
With Character too grosse, is writ on Iuliet.”
verb
- To conceal or infiltrate through the use of stealth.
- To subject (someone) to stealthing (sexual intercourse without a condom through deception, for example removing the condom mid-act).“For her, there's a clear link between this behavior and that of avowed stealthers: : both stem from a place of sexism and misogyny, and to the extent that they differ, it's only by degree. Tellingly, Davis's work treats deception as merely one of several ways that men engage in the behavior she terms "condom use resistance." […] To the best of my knowledge, I've never been stealthed.”
Words closest in meaning
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