lurking

adj. waiting or hiding somewhere, especially when you are about to do something bad or sneaky.

adj. remaining hidden or waiting in ambush, often with a sinister or predatory intent.

“He had a lurking feeling that someone was following him through the dark park.”

“The detective noticed a lurking figure in the shadows of the alleyway, barely visible under the flickering streetlamp.”

adj. existing but hidden, like a feeling or a problem that you cannot quite see yet.

adj. existing in a latent or undeveloped state; present but not immediately obvious or active.

“There was a lurking danger in the old house that no one wanted to talk about.”

“Despite the outward success of the merger, there was a lurking suspicion among the staff that layoffs were inevitable.”

Literary

n. the act of reading messages in an online group or social media without writing anything yourself.

n. the practice of observing an online community or social media platform without contributing or posting content.

“After a few weeks of lurking on the forum, I finally felt brave enough to ask a question.”

“The moderator noted that while active participation was low, the high volume of lurking suggested the topic was of significant interest to the community.”

Informal