to hush up

Examples

• All

• They wanted to hush up the incident to avoid a public scandal.

• But, sir, Woolf killed Kopernick to hush up the affair.

  See How They Run (2022)

• The CO had tried to hush it up, but it was too late.

  Fiction book (2001)

• His family had tried to hush up the news.

  Fiction book (2000)

• They've tried to hush it up, but of course everyone in camp knows.

  Fiction book (1990)

• Haven't we paid out enough to hush up his other scandals?

  After the Thin Man (1936)

• For years you've paid to hush up his scandals.

  After the Thin Man (1936)

• You think that Robert forged her signature and you're trying to hush it up, aren't you?

  After the Thin Man (1936)

• The manager tried to hush up the mistake before the press found out.

Synonyms

C

to cover up

vsto hush up

314 3.7

To hide something so people cannot see or find out about it

aims to prevent people learning about embarrassing or damaging acts

C

to conceal

vsto hush up

282 3.7

To hide something so others cannot see or find it

does this specifically to stop people finding out about harm

C

to cover for

vsto hush up

• Informal

156 4.4

To do or say something to hide someone's bad action

acts to stop others finding out about that person's wrongdoing

K

to keep one's mouth shut

vsto hush up

• Informal

116 5.6

To say nothing to avoid trouble or keep a secret

is silence aimed at preventing others finding out about faults

K

to keep quiet

vsto hush up

90 2.5

To say nothing or not tell a secret

is used when one wants to stop others discovering bad news

K

to keep a secret

vsto hush up

76 2.6

To not tell anyone private information

is used to keep others from knowing embarrassing or damaging facts

W

to whitewash

vsto hush up

12 6.0

To hide bad facts to make something seem better

focuses on stopping others discovering damaging or embarrassing faults

S

to sweep under the rug

vsto hush up

• Informal

8 7.7

To hide a problem instead of dealing with it openly

tries to stop people discovering a mistake rather than fixing it

K

to keep mum

vsto hush up

• Informal

3 7.5

Stay quiet about something private

is silence used to avoid people learning damaging or embarrassing facts

H

to hide the dirt

vsto hush up

• Informal

8.2

To keep secret wrong actions or mistakes from other people

tries to stop people from knowing about mistakes or crimes

B

to burke

vsto hush up

• Archaic

9.9

To quietly stop something from being talked about

is used to prevent people learning about embarrassing or damaging matters

Antonyms

R

to reveal

∞ 2.3

Show something that was hidden or secret

D

to disclose

234 4.1

To tell people information that was secret

E

to expose

146 2.8

Make something visible by removing a cover or letting light reach it

How Secret

to hush up

• Informal

2 7.2

to suppress

176 4.8

whitewash

4 6.8

to omit

66 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology