infiltrator

/ˈɪnfɪltreɪtə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɪnfɪltreɪtər/ (ame, ipa) · /ə̇nˈfil‧ˌtrātə(r) ˈinfə̇l-/ (ame, mw)

infiltrator — noun

  • infiltratorsingular
  • infiltratorsplural

1. someone who joins an organisation or enters a place quietly and dishonestly, usu

1.名詞C1
釋義

someone who joins an organisation or enters a place quietly and dishonestly, usually pretending to belong there, so they can collect secret facts or change what the group does from the inside.

例句

Police arrested an infiltrator who had been passing union meeting notes to a rival company.

agent-noun denoting a covert insider

Elena suspected there was an infiltrator in the activist group after private plans kept leaking online.

an infiltrator in [group] — typical collocation

同義詞
  • spy

    broader; an infiltrator is specifically inside a group, while a spy may work from outside

  • mole

    informal; a long-term infiltrator, often someone already trusted who secretly works for the other side

  • plant

    informal; someone placed inside a group on purpose by an outside organisation

文法句型

an infiltrator in/within [group]

用法筆記

Almost always negative or suspicious in tone: the subject is hiding their real purpose. Frequently appears as 'an infiltrator in/within [a group, an organisation, a movement]'.

常見錯誤

❌She is an infiltrator of the new office.
✅She is a new employee at the office.
💡'infiltrator' implies a secret hostile purpose, not just being new somewhere.