cloak

[klohk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cloak ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a loose outer garment, as a cape or coat.

something that covers or conceals; disguise; pretense: He conducts his affairs under a cloak of secrecy.

verb (used with object)

to cover with or as if with a cloak: She arrived at the opera cloaked in green velvet.

to hide; conceal: The mission was cloaked in mystery.

Origin of cloak

1175–1225; Middle English cloke (< Old French) < Medieval Latin cloca, variant of clocca bell-shaped cape, bell; see clock¹

Related formscloak·less, adjectiveun·der·cloak, nounwell-cloaked, adjective

Synonyms for cloak

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cloak ON THESAURUS.COM

2. cover, mask, veil.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cloak

shawl, mantle, mask, camouflage, veneer, conceal, shroud, obscure, veil, blind, guise, facade, semblance, shield, show, front, face, disguise, pretext, wrap

Examples from the Web for cloak

Contemporary Examples of cloak

Some have innocuous-seeming URLs like cardpool.com or giftcardgranny.com, which cloak the sinister operations.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks
M.L. Nestel
December 19, 2014
This is the conspiratorial mind using skepticism as a cloak for intellectual laziness.
Russell Brand’s Revolution For Morons
Michael Moynihan
November 2, 2014
Arm people with a cloak of anonymity and a shield of non-accountability, and watch the cavalcade of crazy charge.
Solange Is Blue Ivy’s Mom and Other Crazy Conspiracy Theories
Kevin Fallon
May 15, 2014
Defending diversity, not a tool of oppression hidden beneath a cloak called “justice” or “equality.”
Female Journalist Gets Rape Threats Over Comic Book Criticism
Tauriq Moosa
April 21, 2014
Meanwhile, on the stand, Morris presents his version of the facts under the cloak of immunity.
‘You’re a F—cking Liar’: Whitey Bulger and the FBI’s Sordid History
T.J. English
July 1, 2013

Historical Examples of cloak

She went to put on her hat and cloak, and presently they were in the street.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
When that was done she made a bundle of her cloak and shawl, and lay down in her clothes.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
The colonel threw his cloak about his shoulders, and hastened down to the carpenter's.
Rico and Wiseli
Johanna Spyri
With that I raised my cloak so as to let him see for himself, turning my body round before him.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
Then I rose, and detaching the silver ornament from my cloak, presented it to him.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson

British Dictionary definitions for cloak

cloak

noun

a wraplike outer garment fastened at the throat and falling straight from the shoulders

something that covers or conceals

verb (tr)

to cover with or as if with a cloak

to hide or disguise

Word Origin for cloak

C13: from Old French cloque, from Medieval Latin clocca cloak, bell; referring to the bell-like shape

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cloak

late 13c., "long, loose outer garment," from Old North French cloque (Old French cloche, cloke) "travelling cloak," from Medieval Latin clocca "travelers' cape," literally "a bell," so called from the garment's bell-like shape (the word is thus a doublet of clock (n.1)). An article of everyday wear in England through 16c., somewhat revived 19c. as a fashion garment. Cloak-and-dagger (adj.) attested from 1848, said to be ultimately translating French de cape et d'épée, suggestive of stealthy violence and intrigue.

Other "cloak and dagger pieces," as Bouterwek tells us the Spaniards call their intriguing comedies, might be tried advantageously in the night, .... ["Levana; or the Doctrine of Education," English translation, London, 1848]

c.1500, from cloak (n.). Figuratively from 1540s. Related: Cloaked; cloaking.