snakish

8.1

Having smooth, quiet movements or a watchful look like a long thin animal

adjective
/ˈsneɪkɪʃ/

: serpentino

The dancer's snakish grace captivated everyone in the audience.

Examples

The snakish movements of the dancer captivated the audience.
He gave her a snakish smile that made her uneasy.
Her snakish movements made her hard to follow in the crowd.
Her snakish demeanor made everyone feel uneasy.
The dancer moved with a snakish fluidity that captivated the audience.
He glanced around with a snakish cunning, always on the lookout for an advantage.
Her snakish behavior during the negotiation made it hard to trust her intentions.

Synonyms

serpentine

vssnakish

4 7.6

Winding and twisting like a snake

is broader, meaning resemblance or characteristic beyond just winding shape

wriggly

vssnakish

1 4.3

Moving with small twisting movements like a worm

is more specific to snake like movement or overall snake like character

snaky

vssnakish

1 6.1

Winding like a snake

is more about movement or behavior rather than only appearance

serpiginous

vssnakish

Specialized

1 9.9

Having a long, winding shape like a snake

is used more generally for snake like behavior or overall resemblance

anguine

vssnakish

Archaic

9.9

Having the shape or movement of a snake

is used especially for movement or behavior rather than any resemblance

writhing

vssnakish

6.0

Moving by twisting and turning like a snake

is less about violent contortion and more about general snake like traits

snakey

vssnakish

6.8

A surface or pattern that looks like snake scales

focuses on movement or behavior rather than visual surface patterns

Antonyms

trustworthy

88 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

straightforward

51 3.6

Someone who is honest and direct, not hiding anything

How Snakelike

serpentine

4 7.6

snakish

8.1

slithery

1 4.4

Surface Forms

snakish positive

Morphology

snakish = snake (transparent) = snake + ish

The adjective is directly formed from 'snake' with the productive suffix '-ish' meaning 'resembling', so the meaning is clearly derivable.

Etymology

The word snakish comes from snake plus the ending -ish, which means 'like' or 'somewhat'. So to call someone snakish is to say they move or behave 'like a snake', sliding, quiet, or a little sneaky.