conceal

English

Etymology

From Middle English concelen, from Old French conceler (“hide, disguise”), from Latin concelāre, infinitive of concelō (“carefully disguise”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kənˈsiːl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kənˈsil/

• Audio (GA)

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• Rhymes: -iːl
• Hyphenation: con‧ceal
• Rhymes: -iəl

Verb

conceal (third-person singular simple present conceals, present participle concealing, simple past and past participle concealed)

1. (transitive) To hide something from view or from public knowledge, to try to keep something secret.

   He tried to conceal the truth about his health.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

   • View definition

     Visual perception.

     1. The act of seeing or looking at something. (1 of 16 view definitions)

   • Knowledge definition

     The fact of knowing about something; general understanding or familiarity with a subject, place, situation etc. (1 of 12 knowledge definitions)

   • Secret definition

     A piece of knowledge that is hidden and intended to be kept hidden. (1 of 8 secret definitions)

   • Health definition

     The state of being free from physical or psychological disease, illness, or malfunction; wellness. (1 of 6 health definitions)

Synonyms

• hide
• obfuscate
• secrete

Antonyms

• reveal
• uncover
• admit

Related terms

• concealing, concealed
• concealer
• concealment

Translations