Synonyms

sneaking

American

[snee-king] / ˈsni kɪŋ /

adjective

acting in a furtive or underhand way.
deceitfully underhand, as actions; contemptible.
secret; not generally avowed, as a feeling, notion, suspicion, etc.

sneaking British

/ ˈsniːkɪŋ /

adjective

acting in a furtive or cowardly way
secret

a sneaking desire to marry a millionaire
slight but nagging (esp in the phrase a sneaking suspicion )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

sneakingly adverb
sneakingness noun
unsneaking adjective

Etymology

Origin of sneaking

First recorded in 1575–85; sneak + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

With the puck inches away from sneaking past him, a desperate, flailing Hellebuyck reached back and somehow managed to deflect it away at the last possible moment.

From The Wall Street Journal

Team GB's men's curlers are now just two victories away from a remarkable Winter Olympic gold after sneaking into Thursday's semi-finals in Cortina.

From BBC

Clark is best known for her role in Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power, playing warrior Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings spin-off series - even sneaking a Welsh word into a scene.

From BBC

To the uninitiated, though, even amid steady laughter and a sneaking concern for this silly friendship to right itself, it may come off as much ado about who knows what.

From Los Angeles Times

But I have a sneaking suspicion, Solitary Gourmet, that you have all of this in the bag.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023