secret police

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noun

a police force that functions as the enforcement arm of a government's political policies and whose activities, which often include surveillance, intimidation, and physical violence as a means of suppressing dissent, are usually concealed from the public.

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Also called security police.

Origin of secret police

First recorded in 1920–25

Words nearby secret police

secretion, secretive, secretly, secretory, secret partner, secret police, secret Santa, secret sauce, secret service, secret society, secs.

How to use secret police in a sentence

While the Stasi, the secret police, denied the group the right to organize in public, these tenacious women and men coordinated house parties, steamboat cruises and birthday dinners.
The problem with a U.S.-centric understanding of Pride and LGBTQ rights|Samuel Huneke|June 4, 2021|Washington Post
Trying to escape the secret police at the time, her family moved to Botswana, Kenya, and Uganda before she, her sister, and mother arrived in England when she was 8 years old, leaving her dad behind.
The Many Lanes Of Noma Dumezweni|Brande Victorian|April 2, 2021|Essence.com
The Islamic republic itself has released many of the shah’s records, including the files of his secret police.
America and Iran, from fascination to antagonism|Ray Takeyh|February 26, 2021|Washington Post
Afraid the Korean secret police would not believe his kidnapping story, Shin settled in Hollywood.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Informers kept the NKVD secret police abreast of what those who defended him said in private conversation.
When Stalin Met Lady Macbeth|Brian Moynahan|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In June 1989, the head of the KGB in Leningrad issued a public statement condemning secret-police crimes committed under Stalin.
How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Radicalized Putin|Masha Gessen|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And neither he, nor his secret police squad or some lawyer from Detroit, get to change that unilaterally on a whim.
Small Town Keeps Cops Secret From...ISIS|Cliff Schecter|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On June 3, the rebel leader announced he would execute Budik and another captive, a secret police colonel.
A Torture Survivor on Ukraine's Tortured Ceasefire|Anna Nemtsova|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This secret police service is distinctly apart from the detective service.
The Doctor of Pimlico|William Le Queux
This quid pro quo went on for some five minutes before I discovered that here the secret police service is called "the railway."
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet
We knew of it at once—yes, we've even infiltrated the secret police—and decided to do something about it.
Security|Poul William Anderson
That will depend upon the efficiency of the Austrian Secret Police.
The Secret Witness|George Gibbs
They established a regular office of secret police at the Prussian Embassy in London.
Revolution and Counter-Revolution|Karl Marx

British Dictionary definitions for secret police

secret police

noun

a police force that operates relatively secretly to check subversion or political dissent

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