小词详解 | furtive

furtive 英 [ˈfɜːtɪv] 美 [ˈfɜːrtɪv]

SAT TEM8 GRE

外刊例句

• Stealth fighter jets are designed to be as furtive as possible and sneak through radar without being noticed.
  隐形战斗机就是要尽可能地行迹诡秘，能在雷达的追踪下潜行而不被捕捉到行踪。
  ——《经济学人》
• Many try to hide their surprise, but their furtive glances say it all.
  许多人试图掩饰他们的惊讶，但他们游移的眼神透露了一切。
  ——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[adjective] attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive
[形容词] （尤指因内疚或认为若是被发现的话会导致麻烦而）试图避免引起注意或留意；遮遮掩掩的

深入解读

Furtive 一词源自拉丁语 furtum （偷窃、抢劫；被偷的东西），现主要作为一个贬义词表示“偷偷摸摸的、鬼鬼祟祟的、遮遮掩掩的”，强调行为谨慎、警觉或者狡猾，既可以形容动作，也可以用来描述带有此类特征的脸、表情等，比如：

• 贼头贼脑的老鼠
  a furtive rat
• 她鬼鬼祟祟地往身后扫了一眼，然后打开门锁进了房子。
  With a furtive glance over her shoulder, she unlocked the door and entered the house.

名著用例

“Don't call me Solomon. Do you want to be the death of me?” asked the man, in a furtive, frightened way.
“别叫我所罗门。你想害死我么？”那人悄悄地、紧张地说。

出自英国作家查尔斯·狄更斯（Charles Dickens）所著的长篇历史小说《双城记》（A Tale of Two Cities）。该小说以法国大革命为背景，情节感人肺腑，是世界文学经典名著之一。其主要思想是为了爱而自我牺牲，书名中的“双城”指的是巴黎与伦敦。

同近义词

• secretive: (of a person or an organization) inclined to conceal feelings and intentions or not to disclose information
• surreptitious: kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of
• sly: (of an action) surreptitious

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