counterintelligence

[ koun-ter-in-tel-i-juhns ]

/ ˌkaʊn tər ɪnˈtɛl ɪ dʒəns /

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noun

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

an organization engaged in counterintelligence. Abbreviation: CI

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Origin of counterintelligence

First recorded in 1935–40; counter- + intelligence

Words nearby counterintelligence

counterfoil, counterforce, counterfort, counterglow, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, counterintuition, counterintuitive, counter-ion, counterirritant, counterjumper

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use counterintelligence in a sentence

Although the program has become a top priority of US law enforcement and domestic counterintelligence efforts—and an unusual one, as the first country-specific initiative—many details have remained murky.
The US crackdown on Chinese economic espionage is a mess. We have the data to show it.|Eileen Guo, Jess Aloe, Karen Hao|December 2, 2021|MIT Technology Review
In practice, it’s unlikely, according to counterintelligence veterans.
Even on U.S. Campuses, China Cracks Down on Students Who Speak Out|by Sebastian Rotella, photography by Haruka Sakaguchi, special to ProPublica|November 30, 2021|ProPublica
A senior counterintelligence official involved in the Russia inquiry, Jennifer Boone, told the inspector general that she recalled being told that Steele “may have gotten some of his information from a source other than” Danchenko.
Steele dossier sources, methods face new scrutiny after indictment of key figure|Michael Kranish, Isaac Stanley-Becker|November 23, 2021|Washington Post
Prosecutors did not charge or identify them, as often happens in counterintelligence cases for strategic and diplomatic reasons.
Operation Fox Hunt: How China Exports Repression Using a Network of Spies Hidden in Plain Sight|by Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg|July 22, 2021|ProPublica

They take the fight to the enemy with both counterintelligence and advanced fighting skills, a rare combination for modern warriors.
The Untold Story of a Secret Unit of Heroic Jewish Commandos in World War II|Leah Garrett|June 21, 2021|Time
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