thievish
adjective
thievish is spelled T-H-I-E-V-I-S-H: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 98 million words in written English, the 317,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, thievish means “Having a tendency to steal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thievish?
| Letters | 8: T-H-I-E-V-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 98 million words; the 317,168th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is thievish?
Thievish appears about once in every 98 million words in written English, the 317,168th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of thievish
- more thievish comparative
- most thievish superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thievish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a tendency to steal.
- 2
Having the manner of a thief; furtive; stealthy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thievish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Having a tendency to steal:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | diebisch |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does thievish come from?
From Middle English thevysch, equivalent to thief + -ish. Cognate with Saterland Frisian däifsk (“thievish”), Dutch diefs (“thievish”), German Low German deevsk (“thievish”), German diebisch (“thievish”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).