Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Shifty

//ˈʃɪfti// adj, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Subject to frequent changes in direction.

    "Off he raced, shuffling his bare feet through the hot, dry, shifty sand."

  2. 2
    Moving from one object to another; not looking directly and steadily at the person with whom one is speaking.

    "1886, George Manville Fenn, This Man’s Wife, Chapter 3, in Littel’s Living Age, Volume 168, No. 2178, 20 March, 1886, p. 761, […] his quick, shifty eyes turned from the manager to the lethal weapons over the chimney, then to the safe, then to the bank, and Mr. Thickens’s back."

  3. 3
    Having the appearance of being dishonest, criminal, or unreliable. idiomatic, informal

    "He was a shifty character in a seedy bar, and I checked my wallet was still there after talking to him."

  4. 4
    Resourceful; full of, or ready with, shifts or expedients.

    "Shifty and thrifty as old Greek or modern Scot, there were few things he could not invent, and perhaps nothing he could not endure."

Adjective
  1. 1
    changing position or direction wordnet
  2. 2
    characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive wordnet

Etymology

From shift + -y.

See also for "shifty"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: shifty