deep state

American  

[deep stayt] / ˈdip ˈsteɪt /

noun

1. a group of unelected officials in government agencies or private organizations who are believed by some to be secretly exerting undue or illegal influence on government policy.

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Example Sentences

Mojtaba Khamenei worked for decades in his shadow; he knows all the details about how the deep state works when it confronts external threats and internal upheaval.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

For months, California’s public higher education institutions have braced for deep state funding cuts, fearing they would lead to reductions in student services, course offerings and even enrollment.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025

I’m definitely in a deep state of freaking out in a really great, awesome, grateful way.

From New York Times • Apr. 30, 2024

But if it’s thematically and sometimes visually indebted to the 1970s cinema of political paranoia, Dark Waters lacks a suspenseful Deep Throat subplot or a Parallax View–style deep state villain.

From Slate • Nov. 20, 2019

This subject did not pass into such a deep state of hypnotism, but the result was practically the same.

From Complete Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Mind-Reading and Spiritualism How to Hypnotize: Being an Exhaustive and Practical System of Method, Application, and Use by Alpheus, A.