thief-likeadj.adv.
/ˈθiːflʌɪk/ A. adj.
Like or resembling a thief.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > [adjective]
privyc1230
thiefly1395
stalkinga1400
slyc1440
insidious1545
clanculary1563
hedge-creeping1579
thievish1587
sneaking1590
tiptoe1593
peaking1595
underworking1605
stealthya1616
subtlea1616
surreptitious?1615
clancular1621
stealthful?1624
insidiary1625
worming1631
subterranean1643
clancularious1656
hugger-mugger1692
slink1792
slinking1841
instealing1844
thief-like1847
furtive1859
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > [adjective] > like a thief
thievish1587
thief-like1847
1847 R. W. Emerson Poems 75 And thief-like step of liberal hours which thawed the snow drift into flowers.
B. adv.
In the manner of a thief.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > [adverb]
theftuouslyc1400
thievishly?c1450
thief-likea1625
thievously1658
make1699
larcenously1864
thievingly1880
thiefwise1898
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > [adverb]
softlyc1225
by stalea1240
privilya1250
slylyc1275
thieflyc1290
stealingly13..
by stealth1390
stalworthlya1400
theftfullyc1400
theftlyc1400
theftuouslyc1400
under veilc1425
thievishly?c1450
by theft1488
quietly1488
furtively1490
by surreption1526
hugger-muggera1529
in hugger-mugger1529
underhand1538
insidiously1545
creepingly1548
surreptiously1573
underboard1582
filchingly1583
sneakingly1598
underwater1600
slipperily1603
thief-likea1625
clandestinely1632
surreptitiously1643
thievously1658
clancularly1699
stownlins1786
stealthily1806
underhandedly1806
stolen-wise1813
on (upon, under, or by) the sly1818
round-the-corner1820
underhanded1823
stealthfully1828
slinkingly1830
slippingly1830
on the sneak?1863
sneakishly1867
behind backs1874
stalkingly1891
on the side1893
under the counter1926
underground1935
under the table1938
down and dirty1959
sneakily1966
a1625 J. Fletcher Pilgrim ii. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ggggg2v/2 But since thou stealst upon me like a Spie, And thiefe-like thinkst that holy case shall carry thee Through all my purposes.
1776 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) IV. xvii. 91 Each of them, thief-like, wished to steal an unobserved gaze at the other.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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adj.adv.a1625