conceal

/kənˈsiɫ/ verb B1, B2

To **conceal** is to deliberately prevent something from being seen or known. It’s the act of covering, disguising, or keeping quiet—like slipping a biscuit past a particularly vigilant velociraptor. A government might **conceal** information about a slightly embarrassing incident involving a rogue weather balloon. Essentially, it’s about controlling access to knowledge or physical presence. ORIGIN: Interestingly, 'conceal' comes from the Latin 'celare' meaning ‘to hide’. But it wasn’t always about secrets. Originally, it simply described physically covering something up. Over time, the idea of hiding information developed as a natural extension of hiding objects, proving once and for all that words, like biscuits, have a history.

【核心含义】故意隐藏,使不被看见或知晓。

常指有意掩盖事实或物品,如 conceal the truth(隐瞒真相)、conceal emotions(隐藏情绪)。注意与hide区别:conceal更强调故意性,多用于正式场合。

【Significado central】Ocultar algo de manera deliberada para impedir que sea visto o conocido.

Implica una intención consciente de mantener algo fuera de la vista o del alcance de los demás. Se usa tanto en sentido físico (conceal a weapon / ocultar un arma) como figurado (conceal the truth / ocultar la verdad, conceal one's emotions / disimular las emociones). Es un verbo más formal que "esconder" y aparece con frecuencia en contextos jurídicos, periodísticos y oficiales (The company concealed the losses from its shareholders / La empresa ocultó las pérdidas a sus accionistas). A diferencia de "hide", "conceal" siempre subraya la voluntad deliberada de mantener un secreto; si alguien simplemente tapa algo sin esa intención, conviene usar "esconder" o "cubrir".

Word Origin From Latin 'con-' (completely) and 'celare' (to hide) — so conceal is to hide something entirely, to cover it up. The root 'celare' is a great example of hidden connections: it gives us occult (hidden knowledge), cell (a small hidden room), and even color (something that covers). The PIE root *kel- meant 'to cover', and you can see it in hell (the covered place) and helmet (a covering for the head).

verb to hide B1

The spy tried to conceal the secret message in his shoe.

(动词) 隐藏;隐瞒;掩盖;遮蔽

间谍试图把秘密信息藏在他的鞋子里。

(verbo) esconder; ocultar; disimular; encubrir [esconder; ocultar]

El espía intentó ocultar el mensaje secreto en su zapato.

(verbe) cacher; dissimuler; masquer; celer; voiler [Cacher ou tenir quelque chose hors de la vue.]

L'espion a essayé de **conceal** le message secret dans sa chaussure.

(Verb) verbergen; verstecken; verheimlichen [etwas verbergen oder vor anderen verheimlichen]

Der Spion versuchte, die geheime Nachricht in seinem Schuh zu **conceal**.

(動詞) 隠す、見えないようにする

スパイは秘密のメッセージを靴の中にconcealしようとしました。

(verbo) esconder; ocultar; dissimular; abafar; encobrir [esconder; ocultar]

O espião tentou esconder a mensagem secreta em seu sapato.

verb To hide something from view or from public knowledge, to try to keep something secret. B2 ✓

The company attempted to conceal the financial losses from its shareholders.

(动词) 隐藏;隐瞒;掩盖;隐匿 【隐藏;隐瞒】

该公司试图向股东隐瞒财务亏损。

(verbo) ocultar; esconder; encubrir; disimular; solapar [Ocultar algo de la vista o del conocimiento público; intentar mantener algo en secreto]

La empresa intentó ocultar las pérdidas financieras a sus accionistas.

(verbe) cacher; dissimuler; celer; masquer; occulter [Cacher ou soustraire à la vue ou à la connaissance d'autrui.]

L'entreprise a tenté de **conceal** les pertes financières à ses actionnaires.

(Verb) verbergen; verheimlichen; verstecken [Etwas vor Blicken oder der Öffentlichkeit verbergen oder versuchen, es geheim zu halten.]

Das Unternehmen versuchte, die finanziellen Verluste vor seinen Aktionären zu **conceal**.

(動詞) 何かを視界や公の知識から隠すこと。秘密にしておくこと。(⚠️注意:日本語の「コンシーラー」は化粧品の「concealer」で、動詞としては「隠す」の意味です)

その会社は株主から財務上の損失を隠そうとした。

(verbo) ocultar; esconder; encobrir; abafar; disfarçar [Ocultar algo da vista ou do conhecimento público; tentar manter algo em segredo.]

A empresa tentou ocultar os prejuízos financeiros de seus acionistas.

Word parts: con + ceal

Common collocations

behind prep beneath prep barely adv identity subst variation subst surprise subst shadows subst disappointment subst deliberately adv exterior subst successfully adv scarcely adv

Related words

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