shifty
pronunciation
How to pronounce shifty in British English:
UK [ˈʃɪfti]
How to pronounce shifty in American English:
US ['ʃɪftɪ]
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- Adjective:
- characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive
Word Origin
- shifty (adj.)
- 1560s, "able to manage for oneself, fertile in expedients," from shift (n.1) in secondary sense of "dodge, trick, artifice" + -y (2). Meaning "habitually using dishonest methods, characterized by trickery" first recorded 1837. In a sense "prone to shifting," of the wind, used from 1884. Related: Shiftily; shiftiness.
Example
- 1. A man with a wide mouth and small shifty eyes .
- 2. He gave me a shifty look .
- 3. We got to look out for the signs - empty hangers and shifty looks .
- 4. Husband and wife makes love , do as one wants , shifty , jostle the son outside giving a quilt .
- 5. His hard , shifty little eyes were disconcerting .