stealthy

UK: /ˈstɛlθi/ US: (stel′thē)

Inflections of 'stealthy' (adj):

stealthier

adj comparative

stealthiest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

stealth•y  (stel′thē), adj., stealth•i•er, stealth•i•est. 

1. done, characterized, or acting by stealth;
   furtive:
   stealthy footsteps.

• stealth + -y¹ 1595–1605

stealth′i•ly, adv. 
stealth′i•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

stealthy / ˈstɛlθɪ/ adjective (stealthier, stealthiest)

1. characterized by great caution, secrecy, etc; furtive

ˈstealthily adverb

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

stealth /stɛlθ/   n. [uncountable]

1. secret procedure, action, or movement:
   moved with stealth in the darkness.

adj. 

2. Military having or providing the ability to escape detection by radar:
   [often: Stealth] Stealth planes.

stealth•i•ly /ˈstɛlθəli/  adv. 
stealth•i•ness, n. [uncountable]
stealth•y, adj., -i•er, -i•est. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

stealth (stelth),  n. 

1. secret, clandestine, or surreptitious procedure.
2. a furtive departure or entrance.
3. [Obs.]
   • an act of stealing;
     theft.
   • the thing stolen;
     booty.
4. Military (cap.) a U.S. Air Force project involving a range of technologies, with the purpose of developing aircraft that are difficult to detect by sight, sound, radar, and infrared energy.

adj. 

5. surreptitious;
   secret;
   not openly acknowledged:
   a stealth hiring of the competitor's CEO; the stealth issue of the Presidential race.

• 1200–50; Middle English stelthe; compare Old English stælthing theft. See steal, -th¹

stealth′ful, adj. 
stealth′ful•ly, adv. 
stealth′less, adj. 

stealth, +adj. 

1. surreptitious;
   secret;
   not openly acknowledged:
   a stealth hiring of the competitor's CEO; the stealth issue of the Presidential race.