eavesdrops
Hears without permission
Eavesdrops means secretly listens to a private conversation.
The word comes from the practice of standing under the eaves of a building—where rainwater drips—to overhear talk inside.
Someone who eavesdrops on neighbors, colleagues, or phone calls is listening without the speakers' knowledge or consent: She eavesdrops on her roommate's calls.
The connotation is sneaky and intrusive.
Systematic observation of subjects
- wiretapHidden listening device
- buggingSecretly recording conversations
- interceptSeize en route
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
reconnaissance · operative · informant · mole · sleeper · counterintelligence · infiltration · stakeout
Secretive and sly
- surreptitiousDone secretly, avoiding detection
- stealthySecretly cautious in movement
- sneakyStealthily deceptive
- undetectedNot discovered yet
unseen · hidden · secretive · discreet · lurking · creeping · skulking · tiptoeing
surveillance
Systematic observation of subjects
intelligence · reconnaissance · operative · informant · mole · sleeper · counterintelligence · infiltration · stakeout · shadowing
furtive
Secretive and sly
- surreptitiousDone secretly, avoiding detection
- stealthySecretly cautious in movement
- sneakyStealthily deceptive
undetected · unseen · hidden · secretive · discreet · lurking · creeping · skulking · tiptoeing · silent
conversation
Exchange of spoken ideas
talk · dialogue · earshot · murmur · exchange · snippet · overheard · private · secrets · indiscreet
secrets
Concealed information
- rumorUnconfirmed circulating story
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
betrayal · scheme · plot · conspiracy · blackmail · leak · treachery · revelation · affair · deception
eavesdropsannounces
States openly to many
broadcasts · proclaims · speaks up · discloses · reveals
- electronic eavesdroppingSecret technological surveillance
eavesdrop, eavesdropping, eavesdropper, eavesdropped, eavesdroppers