secret police

noun

: a police organization operating for the most part in secrecy and especially for the political purposes of its government often with terroristic methods

Examples of secret police in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Alternately, his tone was infused with contempt, sarcasm or genuine sympathy for his subjects who had been victims of brutality unleashed by the Gestapo or secret police of the Vichy regime. David Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025 The Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, combed the Poles’ ranks in search of men with experience in clandestine resistance organizations. Paul Hockenos, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2025 Two Prosecutors is perhaps his most austere film to date — controlled as tightly as the NKVD (Stalin’s secret police of the 1930s and 40s) controlled the Soviet people. Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025 Gilroy drew upon his lifelong study of historical revolutions to inform the show’s interweaving storylines of payroll heists and gulag escapes, street riots and false flag operations, squabbling freedom fighters and pitiless secret police. Adam B. Vary, Variety, 13 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for secret police

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of secret police was in 1823

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Cite this Entry

“Secret police.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secret%20police. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

secret police

noun
: a police organization operating mostly in secrecy and especially for the political purposes of its government and often using methods of terrorists

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