Definition of undercovernext

undercover

2 of 3

noun

as in spy
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country within the city was a well-organized fifth column, and these undercovers would make themselves known as soon as the invading forces breached the city limits

Synonyms & Similar Words

undercover

3 of 3

adverb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of undercover
Adjective
Off the heels of a miscarriage, Coltrane and his wife dream of a normal life outside of their undercover thieving and scheming. Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 15 May 2026 Police conducted undercover operations at the business over several months, records said. Jeff A. Chamer may 15, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026
Noun
Masks were once largely forbidden on the federal level unless an agent was working undercover, said Michael Bouchard, a former assistant director at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives who retired in 2007. Byron Tau, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025 Law enforcement officers working in plain clothes or undercover is nothing new. Dana Taylor, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for undercover
Recent Examples of Synonyms for undercover
Adjective
  • Dark, dim, and a little grungy, with its scuffed checkerboard floors, worn old couches, peeling walls, and chalkboard menus, La Factoria feels like a clandestine underground speakeasy.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 May 2026
  • Filling out the role of Ilya is Jay Armstrong Johnson; Jimin Moon plays Shane; Ryann Redmond plays a wine-mom narrator who lives for their clandestine love.
    Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 1 May 2026
Adjective
  • Amarteifio and Edebiri have an understated chemistry that makes the covert passion between these two women believable.
    Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
  • These UUVs are becoming increasingly capable of autonomous operations and performing adaptive search patterns enabling wide area covert operations.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
Noun
  • Marrakchi, who has also directed episodes of such TV series as French spy thriller The Bureau and Damien Chazelle’s The Eddy, returns to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard program, where her 2005 feature debut Marock, about a Muslim-Jewish romance in Casablanca, also premiered.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2026
  • Cuban officials later confirmed the spy director's visit in an official statement.
    Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today, 14 May 2026
Adverb
  • Unidentified trespassers stole the control stick out of an R train while it was parked underground in southern Brooklyn back in December — along a stretch of storage track popular with joyriders and graffiti artists.
    Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
  • The Legislature should establish clear safety standards, age limits, labeling, and enforcement, rather than bans that push the market underground and make consumers less safe.
    Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Adjective
  • Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song And the internet has receipts.
    Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 15 Mar. 2017
Adjective
  • With a nod to its namesake, French printer Firmin Didot, the interiors are immaculate with contemporary wooden-block four-posters and a secret bookcase bathroom door in one room.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 May 2026
  • And Agnes is betrothed to the formidable Commander Weston, who runs the Eyes and has a secret history of domestic violence.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 13 May 2026
Noun
  • Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González star in the film about a team of elite operatives on an impossible mission.
    ABC News, ABC News, 17 May 2026
  • Republican Kandiss Taylor has filed to run for the seat, but her past political runs have led operatives to rule her out as a serious candidate.
    Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 16 May 2026
Adverb
  • Haslach also admitted to surreptitiously taking a photo of a minor in a swimsuit by positioning his cellphone under a classroom desk.
    Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 1 May 2026
  • Sometimes the batteries on the trackers would run low, and McGovern’s team would need to remove and recharge the devices, before surreptitiously replacing them.
    Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Undercover.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/undercover. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

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