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conceal

[kuh n-seel]
verb (used with object)
  1. to hide; withdraw or remove from observation; cover or keep from sight: He concealed the gun under his coat.
  2. to keep secret; to prevent or avoid disclosing or divulging: to conceal one's identity by using a false name.
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Origin of conceal

1275–1325; Middle English conselen, concelen < Anglo-French conceler < Latin concēlāre, equivalent to con- con- + cēlāre to hide (akin to hull1, Greek koleón scabbard (see Coleoptera); cf. occult)
Related formscon·ceal·a·ble, adjectivecon·ceal·a·bil·i·ty, nouncon·ceal·ed·ly, adverbcon·ceal·ed·ness, nouncon·ceal·er, nounhalf-con·cealed, adjectivehalf-con·ceal·ing, adjectivepre·con·ceal, verb (used with object)re·con·ceal, verb (used with object)sem·i·con·cealed, adjectivesub·con·cealed, adjectiveun·con·cealed, adjectiveun·con·ceal·ing, adjectiveun·con·ceal·ing·ly, adverbwell-con·cealed, adjective

Synonyms

1. See hide1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for half-concealed

Historical Examples

  • How long had he been there, half-concealed behind his mother?

    The Downfall

    Emile Zola

  • The mother glanced everywhere with half-concealed eagerness and anxiety.

    The O'Ruddy

    Stephen Crane

  • Then we saw him for an instant, half-concealed, just in front of us.

    In Africa

    John T. McCutcheon

  • He fancied he had seen a half-concealed contempt in her glance of late.

    Friendship and Folly

    Maria Louise Pool

  • The savages had found the half-concealed packs of the two boys.

British Dictionary definitions for half-concealed

half-concealed

adjective
  1. partially hiddenlittle half-concealed paths
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conceal

verb (tr)
  1. to keep from discovery; hide
  2. to keep secret
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Derived Formsconcealable, adjectiveconcealer, nounconcealment, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old French conceler, from Latin concēlāre, from com- (intensive) + cēlāre to hide
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 half-concealed

conceal

v.

early 14c., concelen, from Old French conceler "to hide, conceal, dissimulate," from Latin concelare "to hide," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + celare "to hide," from PIE root *kel- "to hide" (see cell). Replaced Old English deagan. Related: Concealed; concealing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper