as in sleeper
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Recent Examples of counterspy
Shadow Alliance Former National Security Agency counterspy John Schindler wrote on his Top Secret Umbra blog in January 2024 that Epstein appeared to have been part of a shadowy Israeli influence operation characterized as MEGA.
—
Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
During the Spanish Civil War, an agent on a mission to purchase coal meets with murder and counterspies.
—Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2019
This wasn’t difficult to do, and the U.S. reacted with defensive measures, deploying FBI counterspies throughout the hemisphere.
—Nicholas Reynolds, WSJ, 24 Oct. 2018
Then there is the veteran Israeli espionage journalist Ronen Bergman, who has taken a slightly different angle into the shadow world of spies, counterspies and assassinations.
—Jeff Stein, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2018
Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
During the Spanish Civil War, an agent on a mission to purchase coal meets with murder and counterspies.
—Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2019
This wasn’t difficult to do, and the U.S. reacted with defensive measures, deploying FBI counterspies throughout the hemisphere.
—Nicholas Reynolds, WSJ, 24 Oct. 2018
Then there is the veteran Israeli espionage journalist Ronen Bergman, who has taken a slightly different angle into the shadow world of spies, counterspies and assassinations.
—Jeff Stein, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterspy
Noun
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Collins also recommended the overnight Sunrise Seto sleeper train as a memorable alternative to daytime travel.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Mar. 2026
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As a potential top-six sleeper to watch in Dallas, Bourque had so much fantasy potential this year.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Lydia, naturally, has her own reasons for pairing Agnes and Daisy together, evolving from a ruthless zealot and disciplinarian in Handmaid’s Tale into a kind of double agent looking to overthrow Gilead from within the hallowed halls of power in Testaments, as the finale set her up to do.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
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And where Clara is going to find a double agent.—
John Kenney,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Actor André Holland is attached as an executive producer on the television spy thriller United States of Africa, set in Cold War-era Ghana, where a former soldier is recruited to build the continent’s first intelligence agency amid geopolitical intrigue.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Mar. 2026
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Set in Ghana 1958, as the newly independent country becomes the site of a proxy war involving the CIA, KGB, and MI6, the film follows a former Ghanaian soldier tasked with forming the first-ever African spy agency.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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And so every regime invests in having student informers.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
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The whole family is deeply involved in the revolutionary movement: the oldest son disappears into Siberia, never to be seen or heard of again, while the youngest, eighteen, is jailed together with his father, and executed after his cell is exposed by an informer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Khamenei worked as Khomeini’s courier, spending several stints in prison for his activism.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
10 Mar. 2026
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Using her broom, Kiki sets up a flying courier service that quickly becomes a hit.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterspy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterspy. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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