furtive

English

Etymology

From French furtif (“stealthy”), From Latin fūrtīvus (“stolen”), from fūrtum (“theft”), from fūr (“thief”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈfɜːtɪv/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (Australia) IPA: [ˈfɜːɾɪv]
• (US) IPA: [ˈfɝ.ɾɪv]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

furtive (comparative more furtive, superlative most furtive)

1. stealthy
2. Exhibiting guilty or evasive secrecy.
   • 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, p31

     But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control.

Synonyms

• (stealthy): surreptitious
• See also Wikisaurus:covert

Derived terms

• furtively
• furtiveness

Translations

stealthy

• Dutch: heimelijk (nl)
• French: furtif (fr), subreptice (fr)
• German: heimlich (de), geheim (de), Tarn- (de)

• Greek: λαθραίος (el) (lathraíos) m, κρυφός (el) (kryfós) m
• Maori: whakamokeke (mi)
• Russian: скрытный (ru) (skrytnyj)
• Spanish: furtivo (es), sigiloso (es)

exhibiting guilty or evasive secrecy

• Dutch: heimelijk (nl), geheim (nl)

• Greek: φευγαλέος (el) (fevgaléos) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: furtive (ia)
• Kurdish: dizîkî, nehînî, razberî

• Portuguese: furtivo

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fyʁtiv/

Adjective

furtive f

1. feminine form of furtif

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Italian

Adjective

furtive f

1. Feminine plural form of furtivo

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Latin

Adjective

fūrtīve

1. masculine vocative singular of fūrtīvus