sneaking 1 of 2

adjective

ˈsnē-kiŋ How to pronounce sneaking (audio)
Definition of sneakingnext
1
as in shady
given to acting in secret and to concealing one's intentions never let one of those sneaking salespeople into your house

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sneak
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others harbored a sneaking admiration for his chief business rival

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust a sneaking two-timer who has completely lost his wife's trust

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sneaking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of sneak
1
as in lurking
to move about in a sly or secret manner the little kids sneak around upstairs when they're supposed to be in bed

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2
as in infiltrating
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way sneak the topic into the conversation any way you can

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sneaking
Adjective
Contributor Yelena Alpert has a sneaking suspicion that these Frette slippers will last a lifetime, attributing her hypothesis to the shoe’s superior quality. — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 10 Mar. 2026 The package includes free breakfast for your plus-one (no more sneaking snacks away from the conference), a signature drink each night (perfect for unwinding after your workday ends), and 1,000 bonus IHG One Rewards points. — Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
Pinch-hitter Eli White followed by sneaking a soft line drive up the middle to drive in Durbin, cutting the Giants’ lead to 2-1. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 23 Aug. 2026 While the hot-cold cycles didn’t completely erase the tension of being confined in a car with my kids, sneaking away to the adults-only mineral pools — one enriched with magnesium, another with potassium — was a nice reset. — Jamie Siebrase, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2026 South Florida graffiti artist Atomik was arrested Monday morning after sneaking into the site of the former Miami Seaquarium, police say. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2026 Look at her hiding it under a towel and sneaking it like a high school kid. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026 James Marcus Haney made his name as a filmmaker sneaking into Coachella, Glastonbury and other top music festivals by posing as press to get exclusive footage of pop stars and their performances. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2026 In addition to dark transits, another tactic for sneaking oil supplies through the strait is ship-to-ship transfers, a practice Iran and Russia have previously used to get their oil tankers past Western sanctions. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026 The fact that each tally mark was a dollar in the band’s pocket, and that sneaking in was essentially stealing money from them, also didn’t faze us. — Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026 Acknowledge your child’s feelings, then follow through with your goodbye instead of sneaking away. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sneaking
  1. shady
  2. clandestine
  3. lame
  4. lurking
  5. infiltrating
  6. sneaky
  7. undercover
  8. dirty
Adjective
  • While this feature never got implemented, a Phia spokesperson told Bloomberg, Kianni was in support of the cookie stuffing practices, and encouraged team members to implement shady practices.
    — Sarah Glodek, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Santa Margarita River Trail Looking for a shady spring or summertime hike?
    — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of shady
Adjective
  • The clandestine transits have changed the game for the Middle Eastern oil industry.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • That same teen sensation left West Africa due to troubles from its dictatorship, and moved to Paris under cover of night and a clandestine air flight.
    — A.D. Amorosi, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of clandestine
Adjective
  • But between now, November and the lame-duck period, there’s still time to pass legislation before election results shake things up.
    — Washington Post Opinions, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Payton seemed awfully pleased with himself for his lame dad joke.
    — Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of lame
Verb
  • The par-3 sixth hole and the long par-3 16th hole will be key to watch, with big numbers lurking.
    — Dennis Esser, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Oil prices are once again uncomfortably high, but the bigger problem is lurking just beneath the surface.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of lurking
Verb
  • Dozens of pages of documents describe agents secretly infiltrating meetings, monitoring activist chat groups and using license plate numbers to compile names of people who attended gatherings.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Hardware has been a tentacle of my personal style code since, infiltrating every part of my closet, home and life.
    — Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of infiltrating
Adjective
  • Even if Jacobs gets the majority of goal-line work, Lloyd could be a sneaky RB3/Flex.
    — Jake Ciely, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Pleasants has the temperament and a sneaky-enough anchor to play on the interior, but the Niners can’t even rep him at guard right now.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of sneaky
Adjective
  • By mid-July, an undercover FBI informant posing as an ISIS facilitator was messaging with her.
    — Lila Dominus, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • An undercover officer posing as a UPS driver saw Vargas, 35, outside the building where the packages were being shipped, prosecutors said.
    — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of undercover
Adjective
  • By the time her wedding day arrived on Saturday, all that was left for Jordyn to do was take it all in—and get her dress dirty at some point along the way.
    — Alexandra Macon, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Recently, my dad discovered these non-slip couch covers that protect the upholstery on their couches from dirty paws.
    — Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of dirty

Browse Nearby Words

sneakiness
sneaking
sneaking up
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Cite this Entry

“Sneaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sneaking. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on sneaking

Nglish: Translation of sneaking for Spanish Speakers

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