To declassify is the official act of taking secrecy off information that was classified. A government department declassifies files; a board reviews them; a date arrives and the stamp changes. After that, the material is no longer treated as a state secret, though some lines may still be blacked out.

To declassify is the official actdeclassify 是一種官方的動作，of taking secrecy off information that was classified把原本被列為機密的資訊解除機密。A government department declassifies files政府部門把檔案解密；a board reviews them委員會審查它們；a date arrives and the stamp changes日期到了，戳章就換了。After that在那之後，the material is no longer treated as a state secret這份資料就不再被當作國家機密處理，though some lines may still be blacked out不過有些內容可能還是會被塗黑

The verb is bureaucratic and news-like. Ordinary people do not declassify their group chats.

The verb is bureaucratic and news-like這個動詞帶有官方公文和新聞用語的味道。Ordinary people do not declassify their group chats一般人不會把自己的群組聊天記錄拿去 declassify（解密）

You declassify documents, records, intelligence, reports.

You declassify你會 declassify（解密）的是 documents, records, intelligence, reports文件、紀錄、情報、報告

The opposite move is to classify (to make it secret, or to set its secret level). Unclassify is not the usual verb; English prefers declassify for this undoing.

The opposite move is to classify相反的動作是 classify（列為機密） (to make it secret, or to set its secret level也就是把它變成機密，或設定它的機密等級)。Unclassify is not the usual verb unclassify 不是常用的動詞；English prefers declassify for this undoing英語在講這種「解除」時偏好用 declassify

From de- + classify: classify here is the security sense (“put into a secret class”), not the school sense of sorting animals into groups — though it is the same verb underneath, and that is why the word looks like a science word at first.

From de- + classify這個字是 de- 加上 classify：classify here is the security sense (“put into a secret class”)這裡的 classify 是安全機密的意思（「歸入機密等級」），not the school sense of sorting animals into groups而不是學校裡「把動物分類」那種意思 — though it is the same verb underneath不過底層其實是同一個動詞，and that is why the word looks like a science word at first這也是為什麼這個字乍看之下像個科學用語