as in eavesdropping (on)
to listen to (another in private conversation)
it's not polite to listen in on other people's private conversations
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for listening in (on)
Verb
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This type of system could be useful for monitoring transplant patients who need to take immunosuppressive drugs, or people with infections such as HIV or TB, who need treatment for an extended period of time.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026 -
Officers were in the area monitoring the situation and later cleared the scene.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Creature tells its story, and hearing its perspective allows a dying Victor to acknowledge his mistakes.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Jan. 2026
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The trial schedule was interrupted early in December when Pattis asked Underhill, the judge hearing both cases, to be allowed to withdraw from representing Diamantis in the second trial.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Various others have been executed in Iran in recent years before the June conflict on allegations of spying for the Mossad, including multiple earlier this year.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
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The soaring golden orbs may have fooled my eager spying eyes a few times.—
Zoe Baillargeon,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Flight tracking website FlightAware showed there were 125 flight cancellations at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but neither Perez nor Cordova could recall seeing or overhearing any passenger complaints.—
Cathie Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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The celebratory July 4 meal would certainly have kept the innkeeper, Daniel Smith, busy replenishing the finest bottles of Madeira from behind the locked bar—perhaps overhearing snippets of chatter among the delegates.—
Victoria Flexner,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Listening in (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/listening%20in%20%28on%29. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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