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shifty

Pronunciation: /ˈʃɪfti/

The English word “shifty” has 4 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Subject to frequent changes in direction.
  2. Moving from one object to another; not looking directly and steadily at the person with whom one is speaking.
  3. Having the appearance of being dishonest, criminal, or unreliable.
  4. Resourceful; full of, or ready with, shifts or expedients.

Etymology

From shift + -y. Cognate with Dutch schiftig (“loose-fitting, open-textured”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.