Synonyms of espionage

espionage

noun

ˈe-spē-ə-ˌnäzh 

as in spying

the secret gathering of information on others

the acts of espionage on behalf of the Confederacy carried on by Belle Boyd and Rose Greenhow

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spying
• surveillance
• counterintelligence
• counterespionage
• reconnaissance
• intelligence
• wiretapping
• cloak-and-dagger
• tradecraft
• observation
• eavesdropping
• bugging
• lowdown
• goods
• dope

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of espionage

Beyond bioweapons, Russia spies Anthropic also uncovered a Russian espionage operation that used Claude to automate much of its cyber campaign. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026

Federal prosecutors usually do not use espionage charges to convict foreign agents spying on exile groups, but instead charge them with other crimes like conspiracy or acting as an agent of a foreign government. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026

In outline, these are elegant Bond-villain machines for faceless, leaderless, pervasive espionage and assassination, the stuff of paranoid nightmares and stochastic violence. — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

One of the most striking indications of the scale of this campaign is the explosion of high treason and espionage prosecutions since the start of the war. — Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026