stealth
nounverbadjectiveattested in dialogue
- //stɛlθ//
The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
noun
- 1
The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
- 2
archaicAn act of secrecy, especially one involving thievery.
Claudio.[...] But it chances The stealth of our most mutuall entertainment With Character too grosse, is writ on Iuliet.
[The King] thinks it fit[...] that restitution according to this order be made to the petitioners for stealths committed upon them last winter (273).
Etymology
From Middle English stelthe, from Old English stǣlþ, from Proto-Germanic *stēliþō, to Proto-Germanic *stelaną (“to steal, to sneak”) + *-iþō, equivalent to steal + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Compare Old English stalu (“theft, stealth”), Old High German stāla (“theft”), German Diebstahl (“theft”).
verb
- 1
To conceal or infiltrate through the use of stealth.
- 2
slangTo subject (someone) to stealthing (sexual intercourse without a condom through deception, for example removing the condom mid-act).
For her, there's a clear link between this behavior and that of avowed stealthers: : both stem from a place of sexism and misogyny, and to the extent that they differ, it's only by degree. Tellingly, Davis's work treats deception as merely one of several ways that men engage in the behavior she terms "condom use resistance." […] To the best of my knowledge, I've never been stealthed.
[He] tried to stealth her but Nikki checked him quick. “Unh-unh. You better strap up.” “Word?” “Word nigga.” “A'ight, a'ight.” Justus slid a condom on and entered Nikki real slow.
[…] condom. I'd seen him put it on and take it off afterward, so it wasn't like he'd tried to stealth me. Plus, my periods had always been irregular, so I could go six weeks before it appeared. When had I last gotten it, though? I couldn't[…]
In Australia, one in three women and one in five men [...] in 2018 said they had been stealthed. The occurrence of stealthing is not exclusive to heterosexual intercourse, and while the majority of[…]
adjective
- 1
Surreptitious; secret; not openly acknowledged.
- 2
Having properties that diminish radar signatures.
- 3
Hiding one's transgender status (in general or in specific areas of one's life, e.g. at work) after transition.
go stealth; be stealth; live stealth
Lynn is a noted computer scienƟst and distnguished professor emerita of engineering who transitoned from male to female (MTF) in the 1960s and then lived “stealth,” or closeted about her transgender status, before coming out in 2000[…]
They remained radical in their gender identities and not easily categorized; Darling, for example, lived “stealth” as a woman, and Curtis and Woodlawn alternated between female and male identities in different phases of their lives,[…]
Transgender Men and the Persistence of Gender Inequality Kristen Schilt. assigned: “Some of the boys, especially if they are really ... Trey, who was stealth, was accepted at work as one of the only black men in a male-dominated field.
Forms
- plural
- stealths
- past tense
- stealthed
- past participle
- stealthed
- present participle
- stealthing
- third person singular
- stealths
stealth · The attribute or characteristic of acting in secrecy, or in such a way that the actions are unnoticed or difficult to detect by others.
steam · The hot gaseous form of water, formed when water changes from…steamed · Heated and processed by steam, such as being cooked by…steaming · The action of steam on something.