Spying & Secrecy
Society · 92 words
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The words
92 words
- activate/ˈæktɪˌveɪt/verb · B2To bring a waiting agent into use.
- alias/ˈeɪ.li.əs/noun · B2A false name a person goes by.
- anonymity/ænəˈnɪmɪti/noun · C2The state of having no name attached to you.
- asset/ˈæsɛt/noun · B2Anything of value a company or person owns.
- background checknoun · B2An examination of a person's history.
- betray/bɪˈtɹeɪ/verb · B2To turn against someone who trusted you.
- blackmail/ˈblækˌmeɪl/noun · B2Demanding money by threatening to reveal someone's secret.
- blow/bləʊ/verb · A2To push air out through your lips, at candles or balloons.
- bribe/bɹaɪb/noun · B2Money paid secretly to make an official break the rules.
- bug/bʌɡ/noun · C1A hidden microphone.
- burned/ˈbɜːnd/adjective · C1Exposed, and useless as an agent.
- cipher/ˈsaɪfə/noun · C1A system for writing in code.
- clandestine/klænˈdɛst(a)ɪn/adjective · C1Kept secret because it would not be allowed.
- classified/ˈklæsəfaɪd/adjective · B2Officially secret, with access limited by rank.
- codenamenoun · B2A false name used to hide who or what is meant.
- coerce/kəʊˈɜːs/verb · C1To force somebody by threat.
- compromisedadjective · C1No longer secret, and therefore no longer safe.
- confession/kənˈfɛʃən/noun · B1The moment a suspect admits they really did it.
- conspiracy/kənˈspɪɹəsi/noun · B2A secret plan by several people to do something wrong.
- contraband/ˈkɒn.tɹəˌbænd/noun · C1Goods it is illegal to own or move.
- counterfeit/ˈkaʊn.tɚˌfɪt/adjective · B2+Made as an illegal fake copy of the real branded thing.
- courier/ˈkʊ.ɹi.ə/noun · B2Somebody who carries messages by hand.
- cover storynoun · B2The main article, announced on the front.
- cover your tracksphrase · C1To remove the signs that you were there.
- covert/ˈkəʊvɜːt/adjective · C1Done in secret, hidden from view.
- dead dropnoun · C2A hiding place where two people leave things for each other.
- declassify/diːˈklæsɪfaɪ/verb · C1To release something from official secrecy.
- decoy/ˈdiːkɔɪ/noun · B2Something set up to draw attention the wrong way.
- decrypt/dɪˈkɹɪpt/verb · B2+To turn scrambled data back into something readable.
- defect/ˈdiːfɛkt/verb · C1To abandon your country and go over to another.
- disguise/dɪsˈɡaɪz/noun · B2A change of appearance meant to hide who you are.
- disinformation/ˌdɪsɪnfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/noun · C1Wrong information spread deliberately to deceive.
- diversion/daɪˈvɜː.ʃən/noun · B2Something staged to distract from the real action.
- dossier/ˈdɔs.jeɪ/noun · C1A file of collected information about somebody.
- double agentnoun · B2A spy who is secretly working for both sides.
- eavesdrop/ˈiːvzˌdɹɒp/verb · B2To listen secretly to what others are saying.
- espionage/ˈɛs.pi.əˌnɑːʒ/noun · C1The work of spying on another state or company.
- extraction/ɪkˈstɹækʃən/noun · C1Getting an agent out of a dangerous place.
- extradite/ˈɛk.stɹəˌdaɪt/verb · C1To send an accused person back to face trial abroad.
- false flagnoun · C2An action made to look as though somebody else did it.
- forge/fɔːd͡ʒ/noun · C1The hearth where metal is heated until it can be beaten.
- front/fɹʌnt/noun · A1The boundary where two masses of air meet.
- fugitive/ˈfjuːd͡ʒɪtɪv/noun · B2Somebody running from the law.
- go darkphrase · C1To stop all communication deliberately.
- handler/ˈhænd.lə/noun · C1The officer who runs and instructs an agent.
- hideout/ˈhaɪdˌaʊt/noun · B2A place where somebody hides from pursuit.
- impersonate/ɪmˈpɜːsəneɪt/verb · C1To pretend to be somebody else.
- incognito/ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtoʊ/adverb · B2+Travelling or appearing under a hidden identity.
- infiltrate/ˈɪnfɪltɹeɪt/verb · B2+To get inside a group in order to watch it.
- informant/ɪnˈfɔːmənt/noun · C2Somebody who quietly passes information on.
- intercept/ɪntəˈsɛpt/verb · B2To catch something on its way before it arrives.
- interrogate/ɪnˈtɛɹəɡeɪt/verb · C2To question somebody hard and at length.
- lair/ˈlɛə̯/noun · C1The secret base of somebody dangerous.
- lead/ˈlɛd/verb · B1To go in front and show others the way.
- leak/liːk/noun · B2Secret information passed to the press without permission.
- lie lowphrase · C1To stay out of sight until danger passes.
- loyalty testnoun · B2A trial set to see whose side somebody is really on.
- manhunt/ˈmænˌhʌnt/noun · B2+An organised search for a wanted person.
- mole/məʊl/noun · B1A small dark raised mark that stays on the skin for life.
- need to knowphrase · C1Told only to those whose work requires it.
- off the gridphrase · C1Living where no record or signal can find you.
- overt/ə(ʊ)ˈvɜːt/adjective · C1Done openly, with nothing hidden.
- paper trailnoun · C1The records an action leaves behind it.
- plant/plɑːnt/noun · A1Any living thing that grows from the earth toward the light.
- plot/plɒt/noun · B1What actually happens in a story, from start to end.
- ploy/plɔɪ/noun · C1A move made to trick somebody into reacting.
- propaganda/ˌpɹɒpəˈɡændə/noun · C1One-sided information pumped out to steer what people believe.
- pseudonym/ˈs(j)uː.də(ʊ).nɪm/noun · B2+A false name used by a writer.
- red herringnoun · C1A false clue that leads the search astray.
- redactedadjective · C1With the sensitive parts blacked out.
- ruse/ɹuːz/noun · C1A trick used to deceive.
- sabotage/ˈsæ.bəˌtɑːʒ/noun · B2Damaging something deliberately and secretly.
- safe housenoun · B2A secret place where somebody can hide.
- scheme/skiːm/noun · B2An organized plan — sometimes an official one, sometimes a sneaky one.
- security clearancenoun · B2Official permission to see secret material.
- shadow/ˈʃædəʊ̯/noun · B1The dark shape you make on the ground when you stand in sunshine.
- sleeper/ˈsliːpə(ɹ)/noun · C1An agent placed long in advance and left inactive.
- smokescreen/ˈsmoʊkˌskɹin/noun · C1Anything used to hide what is really happening.
- smuggle/ˈsmʌɡəl/verb · B2To secretly carry forbidden things across a border.
- stakeoutnoun · B2+Watching a place for a long time from hiding.
- subversion/sʌbˈvɜː.ʃən/noun · C1Quietly undermining a system from inside.
- surveillance/sɚˈveɪ.ləns/noun · B2The constant secret watching of people, by cameras or code.
- tail/ˈteɪ̯l/noun · A2The long back part that wags on a happy dog.
- tip-offnoun · C1A private warning that something is about to happen.
- top secretadjective · B1Of the highest level of official secrecy.
- treason/ˈtɹiː.zən/noun · B2Betraying your own country.
- turn/tɜːn/verb · A1To move around like a wheel, or to change direction.
- undercover/ˌʌndə(ɹ)ˈkʌvə(ɹ)/adjective · B2Working in secret under a false identity, as some officers do.
- vettingnoun · C1Checking somebody's background before trusting them.
- whistleblowernoun · C1An insider who makes wrongdoing public.
- wiretap/ˈwaɪətæp/noun · B2+A secret device that listens to telephone calls.