sneaky

adjective
\ ˈsnē-kē How to pronounce sneaky (audio) \
sneakier; sneakiest

Definition of sneaky

: marked by stealth, furtiveness, or shiftiness a sneaky trick

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Other Words from sneaky

sneakily \ ˈsnē-​kə-​lē How to pronounce sneakily (audio) \ adverb
sneakiness \ ˈsnē-​kē-​nəs How to pronounce sneakiness (audio) \ noun

Examples of sneaky in a Sentence

They make it look like you're getting a lot more than you really are. It's a sneaky trick. It's a sneaky way of getting people to buy something they don't need.

Recent Examples on the Web

Gant, who had a sneaky strong summer, needed to be carted off in the second half with an apparent leg injury. Jim Mcbride, BostonGlobe.com, "Takeaways from Patriots’ loss to Giants on last play of the game," 30 Aug. 2019 The Oregon-Auburn game has the Week 1 spotlight, but here are five other sneaky-good games. oregonlive.com, "No excuses, time for the Oregon Ducks to win a big game on the national stage: Issues & Answers," 27 Aug. 2019 The dog in the painting looks a lot like our puggle, who is just as sneaky. Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, "Kadir Nelson’s “Heat Wave”," 26 Aug. 2019 Don't forget there's another sneaky factor to contend with: Penn State. Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, "This is what Michigan State football has to do to reach Big Ten championship game," 20 Aug. 2019 With a cast that includes Cate Blanchett in the title role, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Zoe Chao and newcomer Emma Nelson, the film is offbeat, unassuming and has a sneaky, surprising emotional edge — in other words, a Richard Linklater movie. Mark Olsenstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "Indie Focus: Taking off with ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’," 16 Aug. 2019 But the Tigers are replacing a defensive front for the ages and have a sneaky-tough September schedule. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, "My AP preseason football ballot: Who’s No. 3?," 12 Aug. 2019 This is all just speculation supported by some grainy videos and sneaky pics. Kara Nesvig, Teen Vogue, "Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello Saw Blink-182 and Had Some PDA in Florida," 29 July 2019 And to figure out if there were clever or sneaky ways to extract data from unlikely sources. Time Staff, Time, "The Science Behind TIME's New Apollo 11 Moon Landing Augmented Reality Experience," 18 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sneaky.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of sneaky

1833, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for sneaky

sneaky

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of sneaky

: behaving in a secret and usually dishonest manner
: done in a secret and dishonest manner

sneaky

adjective
\ ˈsnē-kē How to pronounce sneaky (audio) \
sneakier; sneakiest

Kids Definition of sneaky

: behaving in a sly or secret way or showing that kind of behavior a sneaky person a sneaky trick

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