SHIFTY


Meaning of SHIFTY in English

shift ‧ y /ˈʃɪfti/ BrE AmE adjective informal

looking dishonest:

He looks a bit shifty to me.

shifty eyes

—shiftily adverb

• • •

THESAURUS

■ seeming to be dishonest

▪ suspicious if someone or something seems suspicious, they make you think that something dishonest or illegal is happening:

The police are treating the boy’s death as suspicious.

▪ dubious if something seems dubious, you think it may not be completely true, right, or honest:

He has a rather dubious reputation.

|

It all sounds highly dubious to me.

|

the country’s dubious record on human rights

▪ shady shady business deals or people seem to be dishonest or connected with secret and illegal activities:

Several senior members of the party had been involved in shady deals.

|

a shady character

▪ shifty someone who looks shifty looks as if they are doing or planning something dishonest:

The man on the market stall looked a bit shifty when he gave me my change.

▪ dodgy British English informal probably dishonest and not to be trusted – used especially to say that you do not want to be involved with someone or something:

There’s something a bit dodgy about him.

|

dodgy business deals

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.