surreptitiously

comparative more surreptitiously · superlative most surreptitiously

1. In a surreptitious manner; stealthily, furtively, secretly.

   Hiro and Chuck grab the closest thing they can find to a corner table. Hiro buttonholes a waiter and surreptitiously orders a pitcher of Pub Special, mixed half and half with nonalcoholic beer.

   1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 295

   3 more examples

   They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.

   1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 9

   While Brown distracted the usually hyperfocused Mangini, safety Kerry Rhodes and linebackers Eric Barton and Jonathan Vilma grabbed a cooler of Gatorade and surreptitiously assumed their positions according to plan.

   2007 January 1, Karen Crouse, “With Wild-Card Spot Clinched, Jets Can Finally Talk Playoffs”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2021

   They included messages drafted by Epstein alleging that Bill Gates had contracted an STI after having extramarital sex with “Russian girls” and was planning to surreptitiously give French Gates antibiotics.

   2026 June 13, Sophie McBain, “‘Have you ever been around someone you just know is evil?’ Melinda French Gates on meeting Jeffrey Epstein, giving away billions, and her post-divorce peace”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: furtively, secretly, stealthily