National Security Terminology

verb A word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being. In this case, 'classified' is the past tense of the verb 'classify', which means to categorize or arrange things according to a particular system.

adjective A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. In this case, 'classified' is describing something that is kept secret or restricted.

• The documents are classified as top secret and access is restricted.
• I can't tell you, it's classified information.
• That's some classified stuff, man. Can't talk about it.
• Her emotions were classified as a well-guarded secret, hidden from everyone.

noun activities carried out to prevent or thwart espionage

• The government agency focused on counterespionage to prevent foreign intelligence threats.
• The team is trained in counterespionage to protect classified information.
• They have some serious skills when it comes to playing the counterespionage game.
• In the world of business, market research can be seen as a form of counterespionage.

noun traffic - the movement of vehicles or people along roads, or the movement of ships, trains, or planes along routes

• The authorities are cracking down on narcotics traffic in the region.
• There's been a lot of talk about narcotics traffic in our neighborhood.
• The cops are busting up the narcotics traffic in that area.
• The influx of counterfeit goods is like a form of narcotics traffic in the market.

noun a body of people, typically influential members of government agencies or the military, believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy

• The concept of a deep state refers to a hidden network of individuals within a government who operate independently of elected officials.
• Some people believe that the deep state is secretly controlling everything behind the scenes.
• I heard that the deep state is pulling the strings in politics.
• The deep state is like an invisible hand guiding the direction of the government.