as in operative
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 to spot
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
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Recent Examples of spy
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
22 June 2026
Other International Premieres include Secret Service, a political spy thriller directed by James Marsh and starring Gemma Arterton; and the Korean thriller Speaking Dead.
—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
Late one night, Clark spies what appears to be a sliver of light coming through a crack in the wall of the store’s basement.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
14 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for spy
Noun
But there’s a version of Blaze’s playtime with Jessie where Smarty served as the twist villain in her spy story, and kidnaps the Tamagotchi, who was a baby in the playtime.
—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
22 June 2026
Other International Premieres include Secret Service, a political spy thriller directed by James Marsh and starring Gemma Arterton; and the Korean thriller Speaking Dead.
—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
22 June 2026
Verb
Glimmers of this optimism could be spied in the FOMC’s statement, issued ahead of Warsh’s press conference.
—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
Late one night, Clark spies what appears to be a sliver of light coming through a crack in the wall of the store’s basement.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
14 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for spy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spy
Noun
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Dunlap launched an insurgent campaign to challenge Golden in 2025, prompting a backlash from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as well as Democratic lawmakers and operatives who suggested Dunlap could not win the rural, conservative-leaning seat.
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That same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected was killed in Spain, with Russian operatives as the prime suspects.
Verb
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Within hours, he was spotted on Santa Clara Valley Water District property at Camino Arroyo and Gilman Road.
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The marshals received a tip Tuesday that the man had been spotted at his residence in Meridian, the release said.
Noun
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But the fear of being snatched by ICE agents remains, Neel said.
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In all 11 host cities, federal agents are leading operations to keep drones away from match-day crowds.
Verb
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Europe’s largest economy, like many wealthy nations, is eyeing autonomous bots to address its struggling industrial base and aging workforce.
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In any case, chip stocks are down, too, and investors are eying Intel and others with a certain suspicion, at least short-term.
Noun
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The result is that the majority — roughly 70% of public firms — of Self-Dealers and Value-Extractors still practicing MSV undercover are enjoying below-average as shown by the data in Figure 2 from Professor Felix Oberholzer’s book Better Simpler Strategy.
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First, in February 2008, a Dutch TV station aired a confession allegedly made by van der Sloot and captured on a hidden camera by Patrick van der Eem, a businessman working undercover for a Dutch journalist.
Verb
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Sensors alone are not a cure for such failures, but better measurements can help engineers notice when important details are changing.
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Pryor also noticed that Black students were frequently more hesitant to participate in these conversations.
Noun
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Mexican comfort food known for agua frescas, frozen margaritas, enchiladas (mole, salsa verde and sour cream trio), pambazos and desserts.
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The film was decried by the LGBT community even in pre-production, as a mole on set allegedly leaked a copy of the screenplay to passionate advocates like Village Voice columnist Arthur Bell.
Verb
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While many people were surprised to see the warning pop up on their phones, especially those living hundreds of miles from the epicenter, officials say the ShakeAlert system is designed to err on the side of caution.
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She was last seen wearing a black shirt and shorts, police said.
Cite this Entry
“Spy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spy. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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