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Eavesdropping vs Spying - What's the difference?

eavesdropping | spying |

As verbs the difference between eavesdropping and spying

is that eavesdropping is present participle of lang=en while spying is present participle of lang=en.

As nouns the difference between eavesdropping and spying

is that eavesdropping is listening secretly to private conversation of others while spying is espionage.

eavesdropping

English

Verb

(head)

    • Noun

    (wikipedia eavesdropping) (en noun)
  • Listening secretly to private conversation of others.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne
    • , title=Well Tackled! , chapter=7 citation , passage=The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.}}
  • (telecoms ) The interception of electronic communication.

    • spying

    English

    Verb

    (head)

    • Noun

  • espionage
  • * 1980 , Amélie Rorty, Explaining Emotions (page 472)
    • There are two ways in which the obsessive character of jealousy tends to exert itself: one is in the need to know, the endless tests and investigations and spyings that are so characteristic of jealousy.

    Anagrams

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