Standard Lemma guide

counterespionage

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K AW2 N T ER0 EH1 S P IY0 AH0 N AA0 JH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

All those activities undertaken to neutralize or exploit the espionage activities of another nation or an enemy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

spying on the spies

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: counterintelligence

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *komterosder. Proto-Italic *komterād Latin contrāder. Old French contre- Anglo-Norman countre-bor. Middle English counter- English counter- English espionage English counterespionage From counter- + espionage.

Across languages

Translations

59 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: kundërzbulim — activities to prevent spying
  • Arabic: مُكَافَحَة تَجَسُّس (mukāfaḥat tajassus) — activities to prevent spying
  • Armenian: հակահետախուզություն (hakahetaxuzutʻyun) — activities to prevent spying
  • Azerbaijani: əks-kəşfiyyat — activities to prevent spying
  • Belarusian: контрразве́дка (kontrrazvjédka) — activities to prevent spying
  • Belarusian: контрвыве́дка (kontrvyvjédka) — activities to prevent spying
  • Bulgarian: контраразузна́ване (kontrarazuznávane) — activities to prevent spying
  • Bulgarian: контрашпиона́ж (kontrašpionáž) — activities to prevent spying
  • Catalan: contraespionatge — activities to prevent spying
  • Catalan: contraintel·ligència — activities to prevent spying
  • Chinese Cantonese: 反間諜 /反间谍 (faan2 gaan3 dip6) — activities to prevent spying
  • Chinese Mandarin: 反間諜 /反间谍 (fǎnjiàndié) — activities to prevent spying
  • Chinese Mandarin: 防諜 /防谍 (fángdié) — activities to prevent spying
  • Crimean Tatar: akiscasuslıq — activities to prevent spying
  • Crimean Tatar: qarşı casuslıq — activities to prevent spying
  • Czech: kontrarozvědka — activities to prevent spying
  • Danish: kontraspionage — activities to prevent spying
  • Dutch: contraspionage — activities to prevent spying
  • Esperanto: kontraŭspionado — activities to prevent spying
  • Estonian: vastuluure — activities to prevent spying
  • Finnish: vastavakoilu — activities to prevent spying
  • French: contre-espionnage — activities to prevent spying
  • Georgian: კონტრდაზვერვა (ḳonṭrdazverva) — activities to prevent spying
  • German: Spionageabwehr — activities to prevent spying
  • Greek: αντικατασκοπία (antikataskopía) — activities to prevent spying
  • Hindi: प्रत्यासूचना (pratyāsūcnā) — activities to prevent spying
  • Hungarian: kémelhárítás — activities to prevent spying
  • Icelandic: gagnnjósnir — activities to prevent spying
  • Indonesian: kontraspionase — activities to prevent spying
  • Indonesian: kontra-intelijen — activities to prevent spying
  • Italian: controspionaggio — activities to prevent spying
  • Japanese: 防諜 (bōchō) — activities to prevent spying
  • Kazakh: қарсы барлау (qarsy barlau) — activities to prevent spying
  • Kazakh: қарсы шолу (qarsy şolu) — activities to prevent spying
  • Korean: 방첩 (bangcheop) — activities to prevent spying
  • Kyrgyz: контрразведка (kontrrazvedka) — activities to prevent spying
  • Kyrgyz: каршы чалгын (karşı calgın) — activities to prevent spying
  • Latvian: pretizlūkošana — activities to prevent spying
  • Lithuanian: kontržvalgyba — activities to prevent spying
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kontraetterretning — activities to prevent spying
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kontraspionasje — activities to prevent spying
  • Iranian Persian: ضِدِّاِطِّلاعات (zeddeettelâ'ât) — activities to prevent spying
  • Polish: kontrwywiad — activities to prevent spying
  • Portuguese: contraespionagem — activities to prevent spying
  • Portuguese: contrainteligência — activities to prevent spying
  • Romanian: contraspionaj — activities to prevent spying
  • Russian: контршпиона́ж (kontršpionáž) — activities to prevent spying
  • Russian: контрразве́дка (kontrrazvédka) — activities to prevent spying
  • Slovak: kontrarozviedka — activities to prevent spying
  • Slovene: protiobveščevalna služba — activities to prevent spying
  • Spanish: contraespionaje — activities to prevent spying
  • Spanish: contrainteligencia — activities to prevent spying
  • Swedish: kontraspionage — activities to prevent spying
  • Tajik: контрразведка (kontrrazvedka) — activities to prevent spying
  • Turkish: karşı istihbarat — activities to prevent spying
  • Ukrainian: контрро́звідка (kontrrózvidka) — activities to prevent spying
  • Ukrainian: контррозві́дка (kontrrozvídka) — activities to prevent spying
  • Uzbek: kontrrazvedka — activities to prevent spying
  • Vietnamese: phản gián — activities to prevent spying