surreptition

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US/səˌɹɛpˈtɪʃən/US/ˌsʌɹəpˈtɪʃən/

noun

The quality of being surreptitious: stealthiness, covertness; surreptitiousness.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounsurreptition (usually uncountable, plural surreptitions)

plural surreptitions

  1. uncountableusuallyThe quality of being surreptitious: stealthiness, covertness; surreptitiousness.

    We will propose a model that tries to apply ideas taken from the way plants, animals, and human societies have used surreptition to protect themselves against attackers to the way we can protect software from attack.

    2009, Jasvir Nagra, Christian Collberg, Surreptitious Software: Obfuscation, Watermarking, and Tamperproofing for Software Protection, Pearson Education, →ISBN
    1 more example

    They have found a way to continue drinking both furiously and yet with a certain degree of surreptition. The Australians near to the fence slice through the bonds keeping the wrists of the Tommies strapped to the posts. The first couple of ...

    1986, Alan Bleasdale, The Monocled Mutineer, Vintage
  2. uncountableusuallySubreption (act of obtaining by surprise, or by unfair representation through concealment).

    If any order shall be made, and the court not informed of the last material order formerly made, no benefit shall be taken by such order, as granted by abuse and surreptition, and to that end the registers ought duly to mention the former ...

    1908, Albert Hutchinson Putney, Equity jurisprudence. Trusts. Equity pleading, page 320

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

Sense 1, at least, is probably a back-formation from surreptitious; for sense 2, compare the cognate synonym subreption.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

surreptition. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surreptition

MLA

“surreptition.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surreptition. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “surreptition,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surreptition.

Source: surreptition on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.