declassify

American  

[dee-klas-uh-fahy] / diˈklæs əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

declassified, declassifying

1. to remove the classification from (information, a document, etc.) that restricts access in terms of secrecy, confidentiality, etc.

---

declassify British  

/ diːˈklæsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to release (a document or information) from the security list

---

Other Word Forms

• declassifiable adjective
• declassification noun

Etymology

Origin of declassify

First recorded in 1860–65; de- + classify

Example Sentences

Newly declassified papers show officials refused to release details of a conversation between Blair and French president Jacques Chirac following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in Paris in 1997.

From BBC

Wilson has also submitted a proposal that calls for the board to immediately declassify, so that all directors are elected annually by shareholders.

From MarketWatch

That is true, and it’s the best 10 seconds of this documentary, but viewers won’t know what to make of it without the declassified evidence.

From Salon

Ms. Machado calls on all nations to “declassify and disclose the information they have about the regime’s criminal dealings, financial crimes, and economic enablers. Make it public.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The changes are made starkly clear in comparisons by conservation start-up The TreeMap's Nusantara Atlas project, which paired declassified Cold War-era US spy images of the island with recent satellite photos.

From Barron's

Related Words

• publicize