CLOAK-AND-DAGGER Synonyms: 15 Similar Words

cloak-and-dagger

noun

Definition of cloak-and-dagger

as in counterintelligence

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cloak-and-dagger

Noun

But beyond that particular case, the suit says, the agents and analysts had a diversity of career experience, including expertise in the counterintelligence threat from Iran and instances of helping recover American hostages held abroad.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
In 1990, senior West German counterintelligence official Klaus Kuron was exposed as a Stasi spy and later convicted of treason.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of counterintelligence

Noun

Even before the incident, OpenAI had been warning its employees about state-actor espionage tactics that aim to steal the company’s corporate secrets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

— Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Advancements in technology have changed the nature of economic espionage.

— October 21, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of espionage

Noun

Lawrence, Massachusetts, Mayor Brian DePeña, who is already facing unrelated federal criminal charges, was arraigned Tuesday on more than a dozen state wiretapping charges.

— Matt Schooley, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Later that year, he was charged with wiretapping, and although authorities did not offer more details, local journalists have reported that the alleged wiretapping was meant to monitor the investigation of his mother.

— James Lasdun, New Yorker, 26 May 2026

Definition of wiretapping

Noun

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, repeated his warning Sunday that Iran or its proxies could launch an attack before the election to disrupt the vote, citing intelligence.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
What readers are saying The comments discuss a case involving a person who sent letters containing a suspicious substance, with many commenters criticizing the individual's intelligence for including his return address.

— Violet Jira, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of intelligence

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cloak

cloak-and-dagger

cloaked

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Style

“Cloak-and-dagger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cloak-and-dagger. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of cloak-and-dagger

noun

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