thievish

1 8.2

Likely to steal things that are not yours

adjective
/ˈθiːvɪʃ/

: ladrón

The thievish raccoon quickly snatched the bread from the picnic table.

Examples

Cunning like a thievish cat.

Fiction book (1995)
The employees were concerned about the thievish behavior of their co-worker who often took items without asking.
His thievish antics made it hard for anyone to trust him around their belongings.

Synonyms

thieving

vsthievish

25 6.3

Often taking things from other people without permission

is about being prone or suggestive rather than actually acting often

larcenous

vsthievish

Archaic

2 8.6

Likely to steal things

is about being suggestive of theft rather than a clear inclination

Antonyms

honest

∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

trustworthy

87 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

How Thievish

kleptomaniacal

Specialized

1 9.8

thieving

25 6.3

thievish

1 8.2

untrustworthy

20 4.8

honest

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

thievish positive

Morphology

thievish = thief (transparent) = thief + v + ish

The adjective is a regular derivation from the noun 'thief' with the productive suffix '-ish', meaning 'having the qualities of a thief'; the minor orthographic/phonological change (f→v) does not impede understanding.

Etymology

The word thievish comes from thief plus the ending -ish, which means 'having the quality of' and appears in words like selfish and foolish. So, thievish simply means 'like a thief' or likely to steal, which explains how we use the word today.