Standard Lemma guide

thievish

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having a tendency to steal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Having the manner of a thief; furtive; stealthy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

given to thievery

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: thieving(a)

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English thevysch, equivalent to thief + -ish. Cognate with Saterland Frisian däifsk (“thievish”), Dutch diefs (“thievish”), German Low German deevsk (“thievish”), German diebisch (“thievish”).

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: крадлив (kradliv) — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Esperanto: ŝtelema — Having a tendency to steal.
  • German: diebisch — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Italian: furtivo — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Latin: fūrax — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Latin: tagax — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tyvaktig — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Polish: złodziejski — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Russian: ворова́тый (vorovátyj) — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Serbo-Croatian: лоповски — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Swedish: tjuvaktig — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Turkish: eli uzun — Having a tendency to steal.
  • Ukrainian: злодійкува́тий (zlodijkuvátyj) — Having a tendency to steal.