declassify

/diːˈklæsɪfaɪ/ (bre, ipa) · /diːˈklæsɪfaɪ/ (ame, ipa) · /(ˌ)dē-ˈkla-sə-ˌfī/ (ame, mw)

declassify — verb

  • declassifypresent simple I / you / we / they
  • declassifieshe / she / it
  • declassifiedpast simple
  • declassifying-ing form

1. to make a formal decision that specific government documents or intelligence rep

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to make a formal decision that specific government documents or intelligence reports are now allowed to be seen by the public, because the reasons for keeping them hidden have ended.

例句

The president ordered the agency to declassify the Cold War intelligence reports.

declassify + direct object (intelligence reports)

Thousands of military records were declassified last spring by the National Archives.

passive: be declassified by [institution]

同義詞
  • release

    broader term; can apply to any information, not just classified secrets

  • disclose

    can describe revealing any hidden information, not necessarily official secrets

  • downgrade

    technical term meaning to lower the classification level without full declassification

反義詞
  • classify

    to officially mark information as secret

  • censor

    to remove or block parts of information rather than make the whole thing public

文法句型

declassify + noun phrase

be declassified + (by agent)

用法筆記

Frequently used in the passive voice because the institution doing the declassifying is often less important than the documents themselves. The subject is typically a government body, military agency, or archive.

常見錯誤

❌The company declassified its financial results.
✅The company released its financial results.
💡'Declassify' applies only to government or military secrets, not to general business information.