fishily

9.3

In a way that shows you are hiding something or feeling guilty

adverb
/ˈfɪʃɪli/

: sospechosamente

The salesman spoke fishily, making me doubt his claims about the product's quality.

Examples

She gave a fishily vague answer that left everyone confused about her intentions.
His fishily optimistic predictions about the company's future raised a few eyebrows.
I think tpmmuckraker is taking the right tack in pressing Luskin on the fishily concise nature of Luskin's statement.

Blog text (24)

Synonyms

suspiciously

vsfishily

43 3.8

In a way that shows you do not trust someone

suggests something seems wrong without directly accusing anyone

dubiously

vsfishily

3 6.7

In a way that shows doubt or little trust

suggests something seems wrong rather than only uncertainty

questionably

vsfishily

1 6.1

In a way that seems dishonest or not trustworthy

suggests something seems wrong rather than merely debatable

shiftily

vsfishily

8.4

In a way that shows someone is dishonest or evasive

suggests something seems wrong without implying direct dishonesty

Antonyms

honestly

182 1.3

In a truthful way that shows you mean what you say

How Suspiciously

shadily

6.9

suspiciously

43 3.8

fishily

9.3

Surface Forms

fishily positive

Morphology

fishily = fishy (semi-transparent) = fish + fishy + y + ly

The adverb is formed by the regular addition of '-ly' to the adjective 'fishy', so the manner meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Fishily comes from the adjective fishy, which grew from the common word fish plus the ending -y that makes something 'like' or 'full of'. At first fishy meant 'smelling like fish' or 'off', and because a strange fish smell often suggests something is wrong, fishily now means 'in a suspicious or doubtful way'.