CONCEAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does conceal mean? 

• CONCEAL (verb)
  The verb CONCEAL has 2 senses:

1. prevent from being seen or discovered

2. hold back; keep from being perceived by others

  Familiarity information: CONCEAL used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONCEAL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they conceal    ... he / she / it conceals   
Past simple: concealed   
Past participle: concealed   
-ing form: concealing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Prevent from being seen or discovered

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

conceal; hide

Context example:

hide the money

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "conceal"):

veil (to obscure, or conceal with or as if with a veil)

secrete (place out of sight; keep secret)

block; obstruct (shut out from view or get in the way so as to hide from sight)

cover (spread over a surface to conceal or protect)

bosom (hide in one's bosom)

bury (cover from sight)

cover; cover up (hide from view or knowledge)

harbor; harbour; shield (hold back a thought or feeling about)

becloud; befog; cloud; fog; haze over; mist; obnubilate; obscure (make less visible or unclear)

disguise; mask (make unrecognizable)

sweep under the rug (to conceal something in the hopes it won't be discovered by others)

lurk; skulk (lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They conceal themselves

Derivation:

concealing (the activity of keeping something secret)

concealment (the condition of being concealed or hidden)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hold back; keep from being perceived by others

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

conceal; hold back; hold in

Context example:

She conceals her anger well

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "conceal"):

occult (hide from view)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

concealing; concealment (the activity of keeping something secret)

 Context examples 

The lobster was a scarlet mystery to her, but she hammered and poked till it was unshelled and its meager proportions concealed in a grove of lettuce leaves.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

In less than half-an-hour we had reached our brushwood retreat and concealed ourselves.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was suspicious of the looming bulks of the trees and of the dark shadows that might conceal all manner of perilous things.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Mr. Micawber may have concealed his difficulties from me in the first instance, but his sanguine temper may have led him to expect that he would overcome them.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Nothing but an extreme love of truth could have hindered me from concealing this part of my story.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Of course, she knew her power: indeed, he did not, because he could not, conceal it from her.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

They led him to the spot where the money was concealed.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Nonetheless, the researchers are also quick to point out that certain styles of humour may be employed to conceal negative intentions and feelings.

(Self-defeating humour promotes psychological well-being, University of Granada)

An object designed to conceal, enclose, cap, or protect something.

(Cover Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

TOP2 normally conceals its cut DNA ends within the core of the TOP2 protein that encircles DNA.

(DNA damage caused by cancer treatment reversed by ZATT protein, National Institutes of Health)