shiftiness
Untrustworthy body language
Shiftiness is the quality of appearing untrustworthy or evasive.
Someone with shifty eyes won't meet your gaze; their glance darts around as if looking for an exit or hiding something.
The word suggests deceptiveness without confirming it—a person may seem shifty without actually being dishonest: There was a shiftiness about him that made her uneasy.
Furtive, deceptive quality
- stealthSecret, undetected movement
- secretivenessInclination to conceal
- skulkingMoving furtively, covertly
- lurkingConcealed and watchful
surreptitious · covert · clandestine · shadowy · creeping · concealment · undercover · cloak-and-dagger
Disposition toward falsehood
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
cheating · manipulation · treachery · betrayal · falsehood · untruthfulness · chicanery · underhandedness
Shrewd, devious cleverness
- slynessCunning in manner
- wilinessShrewd deceptive cleverness
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- schemingCrafty and calculating
conniving · artfulness · foxiness · shrewdness · calculating · devious · insidious · subtlety
Tendency to avoid directness
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- elusivenessQuality of escaping grasp
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
deflection · misdirection · equivocation · obfuscation · circumvention · ducking · weaving · slipperiness
Tendency to disappoint expectations
- suspiciousnessInclination to doubt motives
- dubiousnessQuality of being questionable
- shadinessQuestionable trustworthiness
- questionableOf uncertain validity
dodgy · fishy · sketchy · slippery · unscrupulous · disreputable · unprincipled · faithless
sneakiness
Furtive, deceptive quality
- stealthSecret, undetected movement
- secretivenessInclination to conceal
- skulkingMoving furtively, covertly
lurking · surreptitious · covert · clandestine · shadowy · creeping · concealment · undercover · cloak-and-dagger · incognito
dishonesty
Disposition toward falsehood
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
fraud · cheating · manipulation · treachery · betrayal · falsehood · untruthfulness · chicanery · underhandedness · crookedness
craftiness
Shrewd, devious cleverness
scheming · conniving · artfulness · foxiness · shrewdness · calculating · devious · insidious · subtlety · machination
evasiveness
Tendency to avoid directness
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- elusivenessQuality of escaping grasp
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
avoidance · deflection · misdirection · equivocation · obfuscation · circumvention · ducking · weaving · slipperiness · hedging
unreliability
Tendency to disappoint expectations
- suspiciousnessInclination to doubt motives
- dubiousnessQuality of being questionable
- shadinessQuestionable trustworthiness
questionable · dodgy · fishy · sketchy · slippery · unscrupulous · disreputable · unprincipled · faithless · treacherous
shiftinesshonesty
Truthfulness, sincerity
trustworthiness · integrity · probity · uprightness · rectitude
shiftinesscandor
Unguarded truthfulness
forthrightness · frankness · honesty · openness · directness
shiftinesssteadfastness
Firm loyal dedication
constancy · reliability · dependability · steadiness · consistency
shift, shifting, shifty, shiftless, shifter, shiftily, shifters, shiftlessness