SPIES Synonyms: 67 Similar and Opposite Words

spies 1 of 2

noun

plural of spy

as in operatives

a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country the government spy risked his life every day in the fight against global terrorism

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

spies

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of spy

as in notices

to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes I spy a motel off in the distance, so let's spend the night there

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 spies

Noun

According to the ministry, foreign spies are infiltrating everything from mapping apps to weather stations. —

Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 7 May 2026 The logline concerns two rival spies who cross paths in a Lamaze class as their wives become fast friends. —

Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 1 May 2026 Having played British spies, lords, WWII fighters pilots and even wrestlers, Jack Lowden has now taken on his most contemporary role to date. —

Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026 Remember the spies, Boris and Natasha? —

Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 29 Apr. 2026 Xi’s brand of resentful nationalism, meanwhile, comes with a strong anti-American streak, and security apparatchiks see CIA spies everywhere. —

Andy Browne, semafor.com, 28 Apr. 2026 Santat’s illustrations begin with straightforward, muted sincerity and become brighter, busier, and more gleeful—filling every corner of the page—as Sharpson’s narrator becomes ever more unhinged, ranting about fish spies, fish disguises, and fish taking over the world. —

Elise Broach, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026 The furry white marsupials, which waddle back into remote areas — places where humans would not otherwise set foot — are almost like spies penetrating the secret lives of pythons. —

Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026 Our spies tell us that the 2028 Lamborghini Temerario Spyder will debut some time in 2027. —

Byron Hurd, The Drive, 16 Apr. 2026

Verb

When Claire and Frank retreat to Inverness on holiday following the end of WWII, Frank spies the spectre of a Highlander staring up into Claire's window that abruptly vanishes. —

Amy Wilkinson, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Feb. 2026 Alma peers through a keyhole and spies her mother (Susanne Wuest) standing before a candlelit shrine to the family’s dead. —

Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025 And when Clara spies her classmate Miller Adams (Mason Thames) along the roadside, and decides to give him a ride, the film introduces a next-generation complication-that-isn’t-really-one. —

Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025 When Leo first spies the orphaned Josie singing on a Boston street corner, he’s struck by her resemblance to the Pendleton family, his father’s former employers and the victims of great tragedy when their baby was kidnapped in 1880. —

EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spies

Noun

Years later, drawn into a covert network of operatives and manipulated through a web of corruption, Clay must decide whether to become the weapon he was shaped to be or dismantle the system from within.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
Authorities should also examine whether Allen was known to authorities and, if so, whether intelligence operatives could have pieced together his train travel and arrival in the president’s orbit, Shortland said.

— Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026