stealth
/stɛlθ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.53 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
Uncountable
verb
To conceal or infiltrate through the use of stealth.
verb
To subject (someone) to stealthing (sexual intercourse without a condom through deception, for example removing the condom mid-act).
Slang; Transitive verb
adj
Surreptitious; secret; not openly acknowledged.
adj
Having properties that diminish radar signatures.
adj
Hiding one's transgender status (in general or in specific areas of one's life, e.g. at work) after transition.
Example Sentences
- "Claudio.[...] But it chances The stealth of our most mutuall entertainment With Character too grosse, is writ on Iuliet."
- "[The King] thinks it fit[...] that restitution according to this order be made to the petitioners for stealths committed upon them last winter (273)."
- "For her, there's a clear link between this behavior and that of avowed stealthers: : both stem from a place of sexism and misogyny, and to the extent that they differ, it's only by degree. Tellingly, Davis's work treats deception as merely one of several ways that men engage in the behavior she terms "condom use resistance." […] To the best of my knowledge, I've never been stealthed."
- "[He] tried to stealth her but Nikki checked him quick. “Unh-unh. You better strap up.” “Word?” “Word nigga.” “A'ight, a'ight.” Justus slid a condom on and entered Nikki real slow."
- "[…] condom. I'd seen him put it on and take it off afterward, so it wasn't like he'd tried to stealth me. Plus, my periods had always been irregular, so I could go six weeks before it appeared. When had I last gotten it, though? I couldn't[…]"
- "In Australia, one in three women and one in five men [...] in 2018 said they had been stealthed. The occurrence of stealthing is not exclusive to heterosexual intercourse, and while the majority of[…]"
Etymology
From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).