clas ‧ si ‧ fied /ˈklæsəfaɪd, ˈklæsɪfaɪd/ BrE AmE adjective
classified information, documents etc are ones which the government has ordered to be kept secret
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THESAURUS
▪ secret known about by only a few people, who have agreed not to tell anyone else:
a secret meeting place
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The details of the proposal must remain secret.
▪ confidential used about information, especially in business or government, that is secret and not intended to be shown or told to other people:
a highly confidential report
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Employees’ personal details are treated as strictly confidential.
▪ classified used about information that the government has ordered to be kept secret from most people:
He was accused of passing on classified information to the Russians in the 1950s.
▪ sensitive used about information that is kept secret because there would be problems if the wrong people knew it:
A teenager managed to hack into sensitive US Air Force files.
▪ covert [only before noun] used about things that are done secretly, especially by a government or official organization:
a CIA covert operation
▪ undercover [usually before noun] used about things that are done secretly by the police in order to catch criminals or find out information:
Detectives arrested the suspect after a five-day undercover operation.
▪ underground an underground organization or newspaper is one that operates or is produced secretly and opposes the government:
Her father was a member of the underground resistance movement in France during World War II.
▪ clandestine /klænˈdestən, klænˈdestɪn/ secret and often illegal or immoral:
clandestine meetings
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his involvement in a clandestine operation to sell arms to Iran
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a clandestine love affair
▪ hush-hush informal used about information or activities that are kept officially secret:
He was put in charge of some hush-hush military project.
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I’ve no idea what he does – it’s all very hush-hush.