What is the word for secretly stealing?
Asked by: Ms. Marianna Hauck | Last update: February 16, 2026Score: 4.5/5 (70 votes)
Words for secretly stealing include pilfer, filch, swipe, pinch, purloin, pocket, or snatch, often described with words like stealthy, furtive, or surreptitious, depending on the context, from casually taking small items (filch, pilfer) to more clandestine actions (purloin, embezzle).
What is unintentional stealing called?
Accidental shoplifting refers to the unintentional act of leaving a store with an unpaid item. This could occur for various reasons, such as distraction, forgetfulness, or a simple mistake.
What is a fancy word for stealing?
Common synonyms for stealing include thieving, robbing, pilfering, embezzling, lifting, pinching, swiping, filching, and purloining, with many informal or specific terms like heisting, nicking, snitching, looting, plundering, ripping off, or appropriating, depending on the context (e.g., taking money, stealing from a store, or taking ideas).
What is a fancy word for secret keeper?
Synonyms for "secret keeper" often center on trust and discretion, with confidant/confidante being the most direct, meaning someone trusted with secrets; other good options include trusted friend, close friend, trustee, steel trap (informal), lip-zipper, or simply describing them as discreet, tight-lipped, or mum.
Do kleptomaniacs steal money?
People with kleptomania do not steal for the monetary value of the items. Usually, they can afford what they steal. They steal because they cannot resist the urge and feel rewarded. In fact, they often steal small and insignificant items (e.g. lighters).
Stealing Meaning
What triggers kleptomania?
Kleptomania's exact cause is unknown, but it's linked to brain chemical (neurotransmitter) imbalances, particularly low serotonin (affecting mood) and issues with the dopamine (reward) and opioid (urge) systems, making it an addictive-like behavior. It often co-occurs with other mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, eating disorders (especially bulimia), and substance abuse, and can stem from trauma or be a coping mechanism for stress, with a family history of impulse control issues increasing risk.
Who is a famous kleptomaniac?
Famous individuals often cited for kleptomania or shoplifting include actresses Winona Ryder, Lindsay Lohan, and Hedy Lamarr, reality star Stephanie Pratt, and even historical figures like Queen Mary, though many celebrity instances blur the line between true kleptomania (an impulse control disorder) and simple theft, with Ryder's 2001 Saks Fifth Avenue incident being a highly publicized case.
What is a person who keeps secrets called?
In fact, you could call a male or a female "secret keeper" your confidant (without the "e"). Both versions of the word come from the same root as confident — which you can trace back to the Latin word meaning "to trust or confide," confidentem.
What is a word for sneaky and secretive?
underhanded, dishonest. devious disingenuous nasty shifty sly tricky. WEAK. base contemptible cowardly deceitful double-dealing duplicitous furtive guileful indirect low malicious mean recreant secretive slippery sneaking snide stealthy surreptitious underhand unreliable unscrupulous untrustworthy yellow.
What is a hidden secret called?
Some common synonyms of secret are clandestine, covert, furtive, stealthy, surreptitious, and underhanded.
What are slang words for steal?
Come Back Here With That: 10 Fun Words for Stealing
- Pilfer. ...
- Swipe. ...
- Filch. ...
- Appropriate. ...
- Commandeer. ...
- Purloin. ...
- Heist. ...
- Embezzle.
What are 5 slang words?
Here are five common slang words: Bet (okay/yes), Slay (did something exceptionally well), Sus (suspicious/shady), IRL (In Real Life), and Glow up (a significant positive transformation). These terms represent agreement, high praise, distrust, real-world context, and major improvement, showing how slang evolves to convey complex ideas quickly.
What is an euphemism for stealing?
expropriate. fly the blue pigeon (UK, slang, obsolete) nationalize. shoplift.
What's it called when people steal for no reason?
Overview. Kleptomania (klep-toe-MAY-nee-uh) is a mental health disorder that involves repeatedly being unable to resist urges to steal items that you generally don't really need.
What are the three forms of steal?
The "third form" of the irregular verb "steal" (past participle) is stolen, while the simple past (second form) is stole, and the base form is steal, with the third-person singular present form being steals.
How to professionally say sneaky?
Professional words for sneaky often focus on the secrecy or cleverness, with options like covert, clandestine, surreptitious, furtive, stealthy, sly, cunning, or underhanded, depending on whether you want to emphasize secrecy (covert, clandestine) or clever, potentially deceptive, behavior (sly, cunning, artful). For more negative connotations, devious, duplicitous, or shifty work well, while artful, crafty, or astute can highlight intelligence.
What do you call a person who does things secretly?
Some common synonyms of secretive are reserved, reticent, silent, and taciturn.
What's a stronger word for "unnoticed"?
Stronger words for "unnoticed" depend on the context, but powerful options include imperceptible, undetected, obscure, subtle, overlooked, or unobtrusive, with covert, stealthy, or clandestine emphasizing intentional hiding, while flagrant or blatant describe something very noticeable (the opposite).
What is Gen Z slang for secrets?
For "secret" in Gen Z slang, terms like "DL" (down low) or "low-key" (secretly) describe keeping things quiet, while "tea" means gossip or juicy information, and "Iykyk" (if you know, you know) implies shared, private knowledge. You might also say something is "on the DL" to mean it's kept discreet.
What do you call a person who hides everything?
The word deceitful is a disapproving way to talk about someone or something that hides the truth. She's deeply deceitful and not to be trusted. A bill was passed that banned deceitful sales practices. In formal contexts, disingenuous can be used when someone doesn't tell the whole truth about something.
What are the signs of a secretive person?
They're shy and socially anxious and see social situations as more high-stakes than they are. They view other people as judgmental, choosy, and mean-spirited. They think sharing their vulnerabilities, or even their taste in music, is a high-risk move and they'll get rejected if they say the wrong thing.
Which queen was a kleptomania?
And this is perhaps why Queen Mary got that reputation of being a bit of a kleptomaniac and a bit of a sort of unofficial thief. P99A9R 100R0G pop it into her handbag or she would encourage the owners to gift it to her, . in retaliation, country house owners would hide all their most valuable items .
Which celebrity went to jail for not paying taxes?
Several celebrities have gone to jail for tax evasion, including actor Wesley Snipes, singer Lauryn Hill, rapper Ja Rule, Jersey Shore star Mike Sorrentino, comedian Sinbad, and reality TV stars Teresa & Joe Giudice, all serving time for failing to pay substantial amounts of taxes on their earnings.
What is the most valuable thing ever stolen?
The largest art theft in world history occurred in Boston on March 18, 1990, when thieves stole 13 pieces, collectively valued at $500 million, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Among the pieces stolen was Vermeer's The Concert, which is considered to be the most valuable stolen painting in the world.