counterintelligence

[ koun-ter-in-tel-i-juh ns ]

/ ˌkaʊn tər ɪnˈtɛl ɪ dʒəns /

noun

the activity of an intelligence service employed in thwarting the efforts of an enemy's intelligence agents to gather information or commit sabotage.

an organization engaged in counterintelligence.

Nearby words

Origin of counterintelligence

First recorded in 1935–40; counter- + intelligence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for counterintelligence

Rõivas called the kidnapping of a counterintelligence official a serious crime “unacceptable to any Estonian.”
Russia Steps Up Pressure on the Baltics|Will Cathcart|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I have been a counterintelligence officer,” Alasania told The Daily Beast.
Georgian Opposition Says the Country's Democracy Is Slipping|Eli Lake|December 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Far from it, said David G. Major, the retired FBI counterintelligence agent.
Inside the FBI's Bid to Flip a Russian Spy|Philip Shenon|July 12, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Few of the people in MI6 or MI5, the counterintelligence service, would divulge anything at all.
The Charmed Life of a Traitor|Harold Evans|November 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The job of a counterintelligence officer and a field agent working for the CIA or the MI-6, their job is not to tell the truth.
The Twisted Mind Behind Julia|Kara Cutruzzula|March 21, 2009|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for counterintelligence

counterintelligence

/ (ˌkaʊntərɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns) /

noun

activities designed to frustrate enemy espionage

intelligence collected about enemy espionage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for counterintelligence

counterintelligence

also counter-intelligence, 1940, from counter- + intelligence.