secret police

noun

: a police organization operating for the most part in secrecy and especially for the political purposes of its government often with terroristic methods

Examples of secret police in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Yet Stunning Landscape As part of their investigation, the journalists weave through allegations of institutional corruption, secret police operations, drug trafficking, and an overnight visit to the Devil’s Punchbowl. Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 21 Mar. 2026 According to his official biography, he was tortured in detention at the hands of the SAVAK, the notorious secret police. Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 1 Mar. 2026 Rioters were trashing and burning Tehran in opposition to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, while the Shah's secret police, SAVAK, arrested the major opposition figure who was about to call on Pahlavi to leave Iran to make way for a democratic Islamic state. Brit McCandless Farmer, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2026 In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, revelations that Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon had used the CIA to spy on American anti-war and civil rights activists outraged Americans who feared the specter of a secret police. Tim Golden, ProPublica, 25 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for secret police

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of secret police was in 1823

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Cite this Entry

“Secret police.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secret%20police. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.

Kids Definition

secret police

noun
: a police organization operating mostly in secrecy and especially for the political purposes of its government and often using methods of terrorists

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