Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To keep under surveillance.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive, nonstandard To keep someone or something under surveillance.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb keep under surveillance
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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This article is daft and not just for its grating use of the non-word "surveil".
The Guardian World News Clay Shirky 2011
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Not content to pursue the appropriate mission there -- surveil and strike when necessary to prevent it from again becoming Al Qaeda's haven -- he engaged in a nation-building exercise in a place with far less infrastructure for that than Iraq.
William Bradley: Obama's Big Republican Problem (It's Not What You Think) William Bradley 2011
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He believed that Anderson's source of the classified India-Pakistan papers was gay - that they must be gay lovers and he ordered aides to surveil them in the hopes of catching them in bed together.
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He believed that Anderson's source of the classified India-Pakistan papers was gay - that they must be gay lovers and he ordered aides to surveil them in the hopes of catching them in bed together.
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Labeled a "total lone wolf" by Mayor Bloomberg, the NYPD reportedly used a confidential informant and wiretaps to surveil Pimentel for at least two years.
Danielle C. Jefferis: The NYPD, FBI and Jose Pimentel: Something's Fishy Danielle C. Jefferis 2011
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But the announcement also sparked fresh concerns that the government may be using mobile technology to surveil its residents.
China plans to track cellphone users, sparking human rights concerns 2011
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Avert your eyes whenever you pass a surveil-cam, keep your heads down and your faces blank, entertain no thought that could possibly play across your expressions and betray you.
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Labeled a "total lone wolf" by Mayor Bloomberg, the NYPD reportedly used a confidential informant and wiretaps to surveil Pimentel for at least two years.
Danielle C. Jefferis: The NYPD, FBI and Jose Pimentel: Something's Fishy Danielle C. Jefferis 2011
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But the announcement also sparked fresh concerns that the government may be using mobile technology to surveil its residents.
Post Tech: China plans to track cellphone users, sparking human rights concerns 2011
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ÂLabeled a "total lone wolf" by Mayor Bloomberg, the NYPD reportedly used a confidential informant and wiretaps to surveil Pimentel for at least two years.
Danielle C. Jefferis: The NYPD, FBI and Jose Pimentel: Something's Fishy Danielle C. Jefferis 2011
sionnach commented on the word surveil
hideous backformation from surveillance; an abomination.
November 12, 2007
yarb commented on the word surveil
But is there a better original word? Observe? Survey? They don't carry the same semi-legal connotations. A welcome addition!
November 12, 2007
sionnach commented on the word surveil
yarb: Just because you make intelligent reasoned arguments (which you do) doesn't mean I have to like the world.
(Retreats into grouchy, reactionary sulk).
November 12, 2007
seanahan commented on the word surveil
I like this word, but I am a sucker for spy shows.
November 13, 2007