conceal
Americanverb (used with object)
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conceals,
present (3rd person singular)
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concealed,
past participle, past
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concealing
present participle
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to hide; withdraw or remove from observation; cover or keep from sight.
He concealed the gun under his coat.
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to keep secret; to prevent or avoid disclosing or divulging.
to conceal one's identity by using a false name.
verb
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to keep from discovery; hide
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to keep secret
Synonym Usage
See hide 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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concealabilitynoun
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concealednessnoun
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concealernoun
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concealmentnoun
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preconcealverb (used with object)
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reconcealverb (used with object)
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concealableadjective
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half-concealedadjective
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half-concealingadjective
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semiconcealedadjective
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subconcealedadjective
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unconcealedadjective
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unconcealingadjective
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well-concealedadjective
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concealedlyadverb
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unconcealinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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concealsimple
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concealssimple
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have concealedperfect
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has concealedperfect
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am concealingprogressive
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are concealingprogressive
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is concealingprogressive
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have been concealingperfect progressive
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has been concealingperfect progressive
Past
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concealedsimple
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had concealedperfect
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was concealingprogressive
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were concealingprogressive
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had been concealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of conceal
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English conselen, concelen, from Anglo-French conceler from Latin concēlāre, from con- con- + cēlāre “to hide” ( see also hull 1)
Explanation
When you conceal something, you are keeping it from being discovered: “To avoid another argument with his cousins, Jonathan worked hard to conceal his disappointment at the outcome of the race.” The verb conceal can be used to describe the hiding of feelings (as in “to conceal anger”) or facts (as in “to conceal identity”). Conceal also can be used to describe the act of hiding or covering an item to prevent discovery. If you eat the last piece of chocolate cake, for example, you may want to conceal the evidence by removing the icing-stained plate from your room.
Vocabulary lists containing conceal
"Of Mice and Men"
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The Star Spangled Banner
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"Black Ships Before Troy," Vocabulary from the myth
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"They are very sensitive to such measures because they could expose information that the regime has sought to conceal -- the realities of South and North Korea."
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Fires that burn slowly through the understory are particularly difficult to detect because the vegetation above them can conceal their heat signatures.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Court documents said Mathewson always had loud music playing and did not let parents enter her home at drop-off time in an attempt to "conceal how oversubscribed she was".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Former lovers, they cannot conceal from themselves or each other the depth of their old attachment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Surely the combination of fire, smoke, the stink of caverns, and bandits with decoy sweat would conceal their scent.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Taiwan, once widely known as Formosa, conceals a remarkable natural world within its steep and rugged interior.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
The presidency is a skin suit that barely conceals this ambition.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
Policymakers can’t craft effective rules if the private sector conceals the incidents that illuminate emerging risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
Heusinger’s James has a seductive earnestness that conceals some shocking character developments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
I know she’s told some story that conceals what really happened, as I have.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
The new approach instead separates information from different regions, allowing researchers to identify atmospheric variations that would otherwise be concealed.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
According to a Richmond Police Department social media post on Tuesday, officers responded to the area of 16th Street and Livingston Avenue to a report of a man walking around with a concealed rifle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Federal prosecutors alleged Tuesday that the suspect, a 35-year-old man named Abdulrahman Alfozan, concealed the small black device in toilet paper and hid it behind a television in an OpenAI conference room in late September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
The paintings were hidden behind a solid cinder-block wall and concealed so well that they were discovered only during a second search.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
If she was tired of his visits, she concealed her weariness with perfect skill, and took care that there should be coffee for supper, “as Friedrich—I mean Mr. Bhaer—doesn’t like tea.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Android competitors offer larger inner display areas, but Apple focuses heavily on the quality of the hinge and concealing the crease where the phone folds rather than sheer screen real estate, analysts say.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
On Wednesday, prosecutors from eight US states also sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, a rival AI lab that could go public next year, for allegedly concealing certain risks and implementing inadequate safeguards.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Both were accused of concealing the dangers of their very profitable products.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The Nottingham ban is aimed at people whom police believe are concealing their identity to commit a crime or anti-social behaviour.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
He had to wait ten minutes, but it seemed much longer to Harry, skulking alone in the sick-splattered alleyway beside the door concealing the Stunned Mafalda.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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