adjective
Etymology: from present participle of sneak (I)
1. : that sneaks or is characteristic of a sneak : furtive , underhand
felt … that there was something sneaking and unclean about secret code messages — Fletcher Pratt
2. : mean , niggardly , paltry , contemptible
3.
a. : not openly expressed as if something to be ashamed of
a sneaking sympathy for the rascal
I have always had a sneaking ambition … to become a conductor myself — Joseph Wechsberg
b. : that is a persistent conjecture
had a sneaking suspicion that doctors were only one step ahead of the general public — Nathaniel Benchley
• sneak·ing·ly adverb
• sneak·ing·ness noun -es