steal: may apply to any surreptitious taking of something either tangible or intangible: ~ jewels. ~ a look at her. 偷偷看她 (surreptitious偷偷的,逃避人注意doing something secretly to avoid detection如compromised his diet with surreptitious snacking节食时偷偷吃点心) (tangible有形的实体的,强调可以抓握的applies to something that can be handled or grasped, 如submitted the gun as tangible evidence提交手枪作为有形证据)
pilfer: implies a repeated stealing by stealth in small amounts: dismissed for ~ing from the company. 又如the mouse that ~s from our pantry常常在我们食品室中偷吃的那只老鼠
filch: adds to pilfer a suggestion of quickness: ~ed an apple when the man looked away.
purloin: stresses a removing or carrying off for one's own use or purpose: had ~ed a typewriter and other office equipment.