counterintelligence

noun

coun·​ter·​in·​tel·​li·​gence ˌkau̇n-tər-in-ˈte-lə-jən(t)s How to pronounce counterintelligence (audio)
: organized activity of an intelligence service designed to block an enemy's sources of information, to deceive the enemy, to prevent sabotage, and to gather political and military information

Examples of counterintelligence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In a January letter, the prosecutor, Adán Vicente Santos Santos, claimed that the local court wrongly dismissed testimony of two counterintelligence officers from the Interior Ministry who accused Tristá Padilla of inciting two other men to publish antigovernment content on Facebook. Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025 Eric O’Neill, a former FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence operative, spoke to The Hill about the challenges of securing an outdoor venue. Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 16 Sep. 2025 The Attorney General is often required to make decisions, with high stakes and on short notice, on an array of difficult matters, from blocking mergers to approving counterintelligence investigations to appealing cases to the Supreme Court. Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025 Wei, who had received Naval counterintelligence and insider threat training just days earlier, strongly suspected that his new social media acquaintance was a Chinese spy, prosecutors said. Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for counterintelligence

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of counterintelligence was in 1940

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Cite this Entry

“Counterintelligence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterintelligence. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

counterintelligence

noun
coun·​ter·​in·​tel·​li·​gence ˌkau̇nt-ə-rin-ˈtel-ə-jən(t)s How to pronounce counterintelligence (audio)
: activities of an intelligence service meant to hide the truth from an enemy or to prevent the enemy from learning secret information

More from Merriam-Webster on counterintelligence

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