surreptitioussur‧rep‧ti‧tious /ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs◂ $ ˌsɜː-/ adjective 
Rory tried to sneak a surreptitious glance at Adam’s wristwatch.—surreptitiously adverb—surreptitiousness noun [uncountable]
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Fortunately, his surreptitious action also turned out to be illegal.
- Solitary, masochistic, surreptitious vice, that's all he understands.
- The back avoids eye contact and confrontation, but it may invite the surreptitious gaze.
- The result was that we all kept making surreptitious trips to the staff room to refill our plastic beakers.
- Then a little light came through the uncovered spyhole, a flickering, surreptitious light.
- Women in nightdresses peeping out of roadside houses lent a surreptitious air to the first few miles.
Longman Language Activatordone secretly
done without anyone else knowing: · Many civilians were secretly killed and buried by soldiers.· My parents didn't approve of our relationship, and we had to meet in secret.· Operating in secrecy, intelligence agencies are often seen as mysterious and unaccountable for their actions.
if you do something on the quiet , you do it secretly, especially because you think that people will disapprove of what you are doing: · His doctor has told him he mustn't drink, but he still has the occasional brandy on the quiet.· He used to flirt with the two girls, on the quiet, when his wife wasn't looking.
if important official meetings, discussions, or decisions take place behind closed doors , they take place secretly without the public being allowed to see or hear them: · The board members met behind closed doors to discuss the deal.· Although America is a democracy, a lot of key decisions are made behind closed doors by unelected advisers.
if you do something in private or privately , you do it where other people cannot see or hear you: · Can I have a word with you in private?· Although party officials give the President their public support, many are saying in private that he may have to resign.· Generations of Native American children in state schools were punished for speaking their own language, even privately.
if you do something or say something unpleasant about someone behind their back , you do or say it without telling them: · I thought you were my friend. Now I find you've been talking about me behind my back.· People laughed at him behind his back.· He agrees with his boss to his face, but then criticizes him behind his back.go behind somebody's back: · I'm not happy about you going behind my back like that. You should have told me.
if you do something surreptitiously , you do it while other people are not looking because you do not want them to see you doing it: · She glanced surreptitiously up at the clock.· I found myself studying his face surreptitiously.· Greenpeace claim that toxic waste has been dumped surreptitiously on west coast beaches.
if you do something furtively , you do it in a way which makes you look as if you are keeping something secret, especially something wrong that you have done: · She looked around furtively to make sure no one was watching.· The older boys hovered furtively outside the school gates, clutching thinly rolled cigarettes.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Rory tried to sneak a surreptitious glance at Adam’s wristwatch.
done secretly or quickly because you do not want other people to notice: Rory tried to sneak a surreptitious glance at Adam’s wristwatch. Rory tried to sneak a surreptitious glance at Adam’s wristwatch.—surreptitiously adverb—surreptitiousness noun [uncountable]