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as in clandestine
undertaken or done so as to escape being observed or known by others
an undercover operation to infiltrate the terrorist organization
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in spy
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country
within the city was a well-organized fifth column, and these undercovers would make themselves known as soon as the invading forces breached the city limits
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in underground
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of undercover
Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
The shutdowns followed an undercover investigation, the village said.
—Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 4 Jan. 2026
Dana Taylor, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025
He is aided by Yasir Abbas, a weapons specialist; Raghuveer Singh, a sniper who served in Kashmir and Tawang; Uday Bhan, an explosives expert; and Sukhbir Singh, an Indian agent undercover in Pakistan posing as a Karachi stockbroker.
—Time, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for undercover
Adjective
Here, Ernst Baerwald works in Japan for what will become the German chemical company IG Farben—which provides pretext to his undercover work as a spy.
—Noun
Law enforcement officers working in plain clothes or undercover is nothing new.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for undercover
Adjective
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The show’s original pair of fathers, who secretly orchestrate the clandestine love affair between their children, are now mothers.—
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Saimar Rivas, Armas’s partner and a longtime civil-rights activist, told me that he had been taken to a clandestine site run by the SEBIN, Venezuela’s intelligence agency.—
Adjective
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Danish media reported that at least three people with connections to Trump carried out covert influence operations in Greenland.—
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Federal statute mandates the president inform a bipartisan group of eight, high-ranking members of Congress prior to particularly covert operations.—
Noun
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On Monday, Iranian state media said a man was arrested in Tehran on suspicion of collaborating with the Israeli spy agency Mossad.—
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The story of Quichotte’s quest is being written, in alternating chapters, by Sam DuChamp, a mid-list spy novelist making his first foray into literary fiction.—
Adverb
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The show's Broadway run marks a milestone for a show that began as a buzzy, underground delight.—
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Furthermore, shooting underground allowed the story to explore how a major metropolitan city such as Berlin would respond to a hostage situation, especially one with an international element and British authorities also involved.—
Adjective
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Get Ready: Katy Perry Has Released a Sneak Peek of Her New Song And the internet has receipts.—
Adjective
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But these beautiful destinations haven’t exactly been kept secret.—
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The secret Traitors' identity remained a mystery to both their fellow Traitors and to viewers until episode 3, when Donna was voted out at the group's second roundtable.—
Noun
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Cuban operatives played a central role in shaping how the regime monitored dissent and protected senior leadership, embedding themselves inside Venezuela’s intelligence services.—
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Alexis Rodríguez Cabello A Venezuelan politician and longtime Chavista operative best known for his family and political ties to Diosdado Cabello, Alexis Rodríguez Cabello is currently head of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service.—
Adverb
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Fox said the exchange between him and Wasser when he was called back to the restaurant took about 10-12 seconds, but defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo suggested on Monday that the pair may have surreptitiously searched the backpack at that time and found the gun — or potentially planted it.—
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In a way, I am being surreptitiously employed by the owner for two minutes.—
Cite this Entry
“Undercover.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/undercover. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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