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furtively

/ˈfɜrtɪvli/
IPA guide

The adverb furtively is great for describing the movements or behavior of someone who's being sneaky or sly. Kids decorating their neighbor's trees with toilet paper on Halloween tend to sneak furtively around the yard.

If you do something furtively, you don't want anyone to notice you; you're keeping a low profile. Usually, a person acting furtively feels guilty, or knows they're in danger of getting in trouble or being embarrassed. Furtively comes from the Latin word for "theft," fur. You can think of furtively as meaning "acting like a thief." Even though not everyone who behaves furtively is a thief, you might think they are, seeing them sneak away.

Definitions of furtively
  1. adverb
    in a furtive manner
    “the soldiers were furtively crawling through the night”
    synonyms: on the sly
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