thievish

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

larcenous

vsthievish

Archaic

2 8.6

Likely to steal things

is about being suggestive of theft rather than a clear inclination

thieving

vsthievish

1 6.3

Often taking things from other people without permission

is about being prone or suggestive rather than actually acting often

Antonyms

honest

∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

trustworthy

88 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

How Thievish

kleptomaniacal

Specialized

1 9.8

thieving

1 6.3

thievish

8.2

untrustworthy

21 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.