surreptitious

 
Pronunciation: /ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs/

adjective

  • kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of: low wages were supplemented by surreptitious payments from tradesmen

Derivatives

surreptitiously

adverb

surreptitiousness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'obtained by suppression of the truth'): from Latin surreptitius (from the verb surripere, from sub- 'secretly' + rapere 'seize') + -ous