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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
These brazen actions catch the attention of the insidious secret police, who pressure Tomáš to deliver intel on his coworkers in order to protect his rebellious younger brother.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
Last year, New York police arrested two men for allegedly setting up a secret police station for a Chinese provincial police agency.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2024
Last year, the Justice Department charged a pair of men with establishing a secret police station in New York City while acting under the direction and control of the Chinese government.
—Anthony Izaguirre, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024
In the early 1950s, Stalin’s secret police chief Lavrenty Beria assigned Nahum Eitingon, the chief architect of the 1940 assassination of Leon Trotsky, in Mexico, to form a special operations brigade to lay plans for blowing up U.S. military bases in Europe.
—Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for secret police
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'secret police.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1823, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near secret police
Cite this Entry
“Secret police.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secret%20police. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
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
More from Merriam-Webster on secret police
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about secret police
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