surreptition
/səˌɹɛpˈtɪʃən/
surreptition means the quality of being surreptitious: stealthiness, covertness; surreptitiousness. It carries an Arena rating of 1510, earned across 33 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, surreptition ranks #1,577 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #4,370 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #4,470 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #4,764 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
surreptition is pronounced /səˌɹɛpˈtɪʃən/.
Why “surreptition” is a great word
SURREPTITION — [Noun] The quality or act of being surreptitious, characterized by stealth, secrecy, or obtaining something through concealment or misrepresentation. Back-formed from 'surreptitious', which derives from Latin 'surrepticius', from 'surripere' ("to seize secretly"), from 'sub-' ("secretly") and 'rapere' ("to seize"). Unlike "subreption," which denotes a specific legal deceit to gain a favor, or "clandestinity," which emphasizes the static state of being hidden, surreption is the active grammar of furtive acquisition. It is the hand sliding a ledger from a drawer, the sidelong glance at a private letter, the silent lift of a key from a desk—the tangible art of taking without appearing to move, a tiny, private victory over the ordered world.
Etymology
Sense 1, at least, is probably a back-formation from surreptitious; for sense 2, compare the cognate synonym subreption.
noun
- The quality of being surreptitious: stealthiness, covertness; surreptitiousness.
- Subreption (act of obtaining by surprise, or by unfair representation through concealment).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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