countersurveillance
noun
coun·ter·sur·veil·lance
ˌkau̇n-tər-sər-ˈvā-lən(t)s 
also -ˈvāl-yən(t)s
or -ˈvā-ən(t)s
variants
or counter-surveillance
: methods and devices used for detecting or thwarting surveillance
agents trained in countersurveillance
When countersurveillance is employed by seasoned practitioners, it is used to identify the vehicles and individuals conducting the surveillance … This information is then used by the individual to thwart the hostile surveillance.—
Glenn McGovern
—often used before another nounGlenn McGoverncountersurveillance cameras
a counter-surveillance specialist
Examples of countersurveillance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The contact gave him countersurveillance training and assignments including the assassination scheme, Merchant said.
—CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
The trick is stealthier than drones, too, which are only viable when the enemy has few air defenses, and drones can often be detected by countersurveillance measures.
—Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 6 Mar. 2026
Murphy suspected that another diner—a man, sitting alone—was running countersurveillance.
—Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023
In 2018, after media accounts revealed one such donor’s under-the-table contributions to an Australian senator—who then provided countersurveillance advice to the Chinese donor—the senator was forced to resign his seat.
—Philip Zelikow, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
Several works by Czech artists reference authoritarianism, like Vratislav Karel Novák’s 1984 steel bracelet with a mirror designed for countersurveillance.
—Holly Haber, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
And in 2014, the broadcaster Alan Pearce released a Kindle book called Deep Web for Journalists, with the aim of showing reporters how to keep themselves and their sources safe on the Internet by using the techniques of countersurveillance, including secure communications and online anonymity.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Sep. 2017
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CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
The trick is stealthier than drones, too, which are only viable when the enemy has few air defenses, and drones can often be detected by countersurveillance measures.
—Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 6 Mar. 2026
Murphy suspected that another diner—a man, sitting alone—was running countersurveillance.
—Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023
In 2018, after media accounts revealed one such donor’s under-the-table contributions to an Australian senator—who then provided countersurveillance advice to the Chinese donor—the senator was forced to resign his seat.
—Philip Zelikow, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
Several works by Czech artists reference authoritarianism, like Vratislav Karel Novák’s 1984 steel bracelet with a mirror designed for countersurveillance.
—Holly Haber, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
And in 2014, the broadcaster Alan Pearce released a Kindle book called Deep Web for Journalists, with the aim of showing reporters how to keep themselves and their sources safe on the Internet by using the techniques of countersurveillance, including secure communications and online anonymity.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Sep. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Countersurveillance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countersurveillance. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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