stealthy
Moving without detection
Stealthy describes movement or action designed to avoid detection—quiet, careful, and concealed: a stealthy approach, stealthy footsteps in the hallway.
The word implies deliberate caution, whether for predatory, defensive, or mischievous purposes.
A cat stalking prey is stealthy; so is a teenager sneaking in past curfew.
Cleverly deceptive
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- deviousUnderhanded and calculating
- wilySkilled at deception
scheming · calculating · underhanded · guileful · artful · foxlike · serpentine · shrewd
Done secretly, avoiding detection
- secretiveInclined to conceal
- sneakingMoving to avoid detection
- covertIntentionally concealed
- discreetCareful to avoid notice
inconspicuous · unobtrusive · veiled · backstairs · hush-hush · hole-and-corner · sidelong · skulking
Producing no sound
- soundlessProducing no audible noise
- hushedReduced to silence
- quietLacking in sound
- inaudibleCannot be heard
padded · muffled · whispered · tiptoe · catlike · light-footed · unheard · creeping
Impossible to notice
- invisibleCannot be seen
- shadowyObscured by darkness
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
- ghostlikeResembling an apparition
phantom · vanishing · camouflaged · concealed · obscured · hidden · unseen · evasive
Concealed from authorities
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
- undercoverSecretly engaged in espionage
- spyCovert information gatherer
- infiltrateEnter secretly to observe
surveillance · reconnaissance · disguise · incognito · sabotage · intelligence · cloak-and-dagger · mole
sly
Cleverly deceptive
wily · scheming · calculating · underhanded · guileful · artful · foxlike · serpentine · shrewd · conniving
surreptitious
Done secretly, avoiding detection
discreet · inconspicuous · unobtrusive · veiled · backstairs · hush-hush · hole-and-corner · sidelong · skulking · lurking
noiseless
Producing no sound
inaudible · padded · muffled · whispered · tiptoe · catlike · light-footed · unheard · creeping · prowling
undetectable
Impossible to notice
- invisibleCannot be seen
- shadowyObscured by darkness
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
ghostlike · phantom · vanishing · camouflaged · concealed · obscured · hidden · unseen · evasive · slippery
clandestine
Concealed from authorities
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
- undercoverSecretly engaged in espionage
- spyCovert information gatherer
infiltrate · surveillance · reconnaissance · disguise · incognito · sabotage · intelligence · cloak-and-dagger · mole · operative
- playstylesaggressive, defensive, passive, casual, competitive
- discretiondiscreet, discretion, subtle, understated, unobtrusive
- reptile traitsscaly, cold-blooded, slithering, forked tongue, shedding skin
- creature traitsclaws, fangs, horns, scales, talons
- cunningcunning, craftiness, crafty, guile, slyness
- hidden identitiesanonymous, anonymity, pseudonym, alias, incognito
- stealth modeUndetectable operational state
- stealth bomberRadar-invisible attack aircraft
- stealth fighterAircraft designed to evade detection
- stealth aircraftDetection-resistant flying vehicle
- stealth missionTask demanding concealment throughout
- stealth gamesGames prioritizing undetected movement