# shifty

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈʃɪfti/ · frequency rank #38,615

## Definitions
1. Subject to frequent changes in direction.
2. Moving from one object to another; not looking directly and steadily at the person with whom one is speaking.
3. Having the appearance of being dishonest, criminal, or unreliable.
4. Resourceful; full of, or ready with, shifts or expedients.

## Etymology
From shift + -y.

## Easily confused with
- **shit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shit)
- **sift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-sift)
- **shirt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shirt)
- **swift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-swift)
- **sixty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-sixty)
- **shiny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shiny)
- **shits** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shits)
- **shite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shite)
- **shitty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shitty)
- **shorty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shorty)
- **Shiite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shiite)
- **shimmy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shimmy)
- **Shinto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-shinto)
- **swiftly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifty-vs-swiftly)
- **shift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shift-vs-shifty)
- **shaft** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shaft-vs-shifty)
- **shanty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shanty-vs-shifty)
- **shifter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shifter-vs-shifty)

## Common misspellings (10)
`hsifty`, `shfity`, `shhifty`, `shiffty`, `shiftty`, `shiftyy`, `shifyt`, `shitfy`, `sihfty`, `sshifty`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shifty