purloined
Taken without permission
Purloined means stolen, typically suggesting theft carried out stealthily or by stealth rather than force.
The word has a slightly literary or formal quality: The purloined documents revealed the scheme.
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Purloined Letter" helped cement the word in English, though it now appears mostly in contexts echoing that story or affecting an old-fashioned tone.
Taken unlawfully
- pilferedTook in small amounts
- filchedStole casually
- swipedTook illicitly or scanned
- snatchedTook quickly, abruptly
misappropriated · pocketed · lifted · nicked · absconded · taken · spirited away · made off with
American gothic writer's surname
- allusionIndirect reference to something
- homageExpression of deep respect
- borrowedTaken for temporary use
- pasticheImitative artistic tribute
quotation · reference · adaptation · plagiarized · derivative · appropriated · reworked · imitated
Done secretly, avoiding detection
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- furtiveSecretive and sly
- stealthySecretly cautious in movement
- secretiveInclined to conceal
hidden · undetected · unseen · covert · sly · sneaky · underhanded · crafty
stolen
Taken unlawfully
snatched · misappropriated · pocketed · lifted · nicked · absconded · taken · spirited away · made off with · pinched
Poe
American gothic writer's surname
- allusionIndirect reference to something
- homageExpression of deep respect
- borrowedTaken for temporary use
pastiche · quotation · reference · adaptation · plagiarized · derivative · appropriated · reworked · imitated · echoed
surreptitious
Done secretly, avoiding detection
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- furtiveSecretive and sly
- stealthySecretly cautious in movement
secretive · hidden · undetected · unseen · covert · sly · sneaky · underhanded · crafty · cunning
purloinedreturned
Went back again
restored · restituted · given back · surrendered · relinquished