Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

surreptitious

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore S words

done secretly to avoid being noticed

Word origin: From Latin surripere, to take away secretly.

In a sentence

Surreptitious in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing surreptitious in a sentence.

He took a surreptitious glance at the answer key.

The researcher made surreptitious copies of the contested files before the committee could seal the laboratory.

Antonyms
overtopen
Usage & nuance

Using “surreptitious” well

Surreptitious describes action done secretly to escape notice, carrying a connotation of stealth and often impropriety, opposite to anything overt or open.

Common questions

Questions about “surreptitious

Surreptitious (adjective) means done secretly to avoid being noticed
Here is surreptitious used in an example sentence: "He took a surreptitious glance at the answer key." Another example: "The researcher made surreptitious copies of the contested files before the committee could seal the laboratory."
Common synonyms for surreptitious include clandestine, covert, stealthy.
Antonyms of surreptitious include overt, open.
Clusters with clandestine, covert, and stealthy in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms overt and open often appear as the contrasting choice.
Yes. Surreptitious is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

Learn words the way the GRE tests them.

Vocabulary sticks when you meet it in real sentences. Practise these words inside text completion and sentence equivalence questions.