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
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
Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
Gary Oldman stars as the curmudgeonly Jackson Lamb, who leads MI5, a unit full of low-level spies that includes Jack Lowden’s River Cartwright.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2025
For all the cruelty, paranoia and oppression of the Red Scare in the 1940s and 1950s, there really were Soviet spies in America.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
The crackdown was ostensibly to ferret out spies, but in many cases the security forces used the war as a pretext to detain ethnic and religious minorities as well as Afghan migrants, according to Amnesty International.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 24 Sep. 2025
McCarthy and his cronies engineered a hysteria over left-wing ideologies and their sympathizers, encouraging tactics like loyalty oaths and provoking paranoia over a suggestion that communist spies were omnipresent in America.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2025
Britain’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, is launching a new online portal called Silent Courier, aimed at using the dark web to entice potential spies to send it secrets, particularly targeting Russia.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
The duo plays Emily and Matt, a married pair of ex-CIA spies forced out of retirement and back into the world of espionage after their secret identities are revealed.
—Jacqueline Weiss, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Cianfrance supplies a real jerk of a manager in Peter Dinklage’s Mitch, on whom Jeffrey spies by setting up baby monitors in the back office.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
This approach sparks a heated debate about proper justice, leading to the revelation of other secret desires between the two spies.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
Gary Oldman stars as the curmudgeonly Jackson Lamb, who leads MI5, a unit full of low-level spies that includes Jack Lowden’s River Cartwright.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2025
For all the cruelty, paranoia and oppression of the Red Scare in the 1940s and 1950s, there really were Soviet spies in America.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
The crackdown was ostensibly to ferret out spies, but in many cases the security forces used the war as a pretext to detain ethnic and religious minorities as well as Afghan migrants, according to Amnesty International.
—Babak Dehghanpisheh, NBC news, 24 Sep. 2025
McCarthy and his cronies engineered a hysteria over left-wing ideologies and their sympathizers, encouraging tactics like loyalty oaths and provoking paranoia over a suggestion that communist spies were omnipresent in America.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2025
Britain’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, is launching a new online portal called Silent Courier, aimed at using the dark web to entice potential spies to send it secrets, particularly targeting Russia.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
The duo plays Emily and Matt, a married pair of ex-CIA spies forced out of retirement and back into the world of espionage after their secret identities are revealed.
—Jacqueline Weiss, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Cianfrance supplies a real jerk of a manager in Peter Dinklage’s Mitch, on whom Jeffrey spies by setting up baby monitors in the back office.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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
-
Privately, political operatives from both sides concede that government shutdowns are bad for both parties.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Once the candidate is defined with a platform backfilled with extensive details, then allow the political operatives to take that platform out into social media with an out-of-the-box approach like some of the earlier suggestions.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
At the end of their version of Cinderella, the tragic stepsisters cut off the backs of their heels to try to fit into the glass slipper; the prince only notices the deception when their stockings fill with blood.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The paper notices warning of upcoming cleanups have a phone number for people to call when belongings are taken, and the city is supposed to hold onto that property for at least 90 days before it is thrown away.—
Blake Nelson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Apple and Google on Thursday removed apps that alert people when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are nearby following pressure from Attorney General Pam Bondi.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
-
There will also be panels with Gersh agents talking about the art of representation and a panel with longtime James Bond screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Pozzo also eyes a reprise of collaborations, which over the years have seen Wolford partnering with brands such as Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood, Missoni, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Adidas, GCDS and Sergio Rossi, to cite a few.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
18 Sep. 2025
-
As the hotel eyes its next half century, Skaletsky sees an even bolder approach to hospitality.—
Regan Stephens,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
All the while, Cook spots a cutback lane to the interior, gives a couple of setup steps and zooms up the field for another big gain.—
Joe Buscaglia,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Then, one of the Cochise County Sheriff’s deputies spots a suspect’s gray sedan parked outside a nearby ATM.—
Avery Schmitz,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Blood is always poised and ready to clot, because the body sees this as a life-saving mechanism.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
-
With more than 100 products, each with domain specific-functionality, Hron sees many more opportunities to plug in agentic AI to speed up work for legal and tax professionals.—
John Kell,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spies. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share