SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
surreptitious
adjective
Done secretly to avoid notice or disapproval.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Secret to avoid notice
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topSurreptitious action is deliberately kept from notice. Unobtrusive may simply mean not attracting attention without any hidden purpose.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See surreptitious in use
She took a surreptitious glance at the unfinished portrait.
Felix then discovered a subterfuge: the speaker had labeled the removal of unfavorable comments as a routine formatting correction. A surreptitious revision had also changed the circulated copy without alerting the committee.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license