classified

Pluralclassifieds

1. 1
   adjective

   Given an official government secrecy level (such as top secret, secret, or confidential) making it illegal to share with unauthorized people.

   The classified documents were stored in a vault that few employees could access.

   Several findings in the investigation remain classified for national security reasons.

   Similarsecret, confidential, restricted

   Oppositepublic, unclassified

   Note

   The phrase that does most of the work here is classified information, and its natural partner is clearance: only someone cleared to the right level may see what is classified. Top Gun (1986) turned the refusal into a catchphrase: 'That's classified. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.' That joke is the bridge to the playful everyday use.

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of classify.

   The biologist classified each specimen before sending it to the lab.

   Tax officials classified the income under a different category.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs: the simple past (they classified the samples) and the participle that follows have or be (the samples were classified). It carries every meaning of classify, so 'the files were classified' can mean sorted or declared secret, and only context decides. The second reading is the root of the government-secret adjective, and even the rare 'make classy' sense shares this form.

3. 3
   adjective

   Arranged into classes or categories.

   The classified records made it easy to find any single entry.

   Once classified by species, the plants were far simpler to study.

   Similarcategorized, sorted, ordered, arranged, grouped

   Oppositeunsorted

4. 4
   nouncolloquialcountable

   A small advertisement in a newspaper or magazine, usually grouped with others of the same category.

   He ran a classified for two weeks before the couch finally sold.

   A single classified in the Sunday edition brought in a dozen calls.

   Similarad, advertisement, advert

   Note

   Clipped from classified advertisement: the adjective swallowed its noun and became one. It is an ordinary countable noun, so you ran a classified or read the classifieds. Its informal tone suits conversation better than a publisher's formal listing, where the full phrase classified advertisement still appears.

5. 5
   adjective

   Intended to be kept secret by a person or organization.

   Internal salary figures were treated as classified by senior management.

   The negotiations remained strictly classified within the family firm.

   Similarconfidential, secret, private

   Oppositepublic

   Note

   Officialdom borrowed for private life: the word keeps its government weight, so using it about a prom date or a family matter is usually mock-solemn rather than literal. 'That's classified' is the standard formula. It closes a question without giving a reason, and the joke lies in sounding like a state secret. No law stands behind it, so a person, a family or a firm can declare something classified.

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