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Glite Dictionary
cover-up

cover-up

137 5.5
An attempt to hide a crime or scandal from the public
  • noun
  • /ˈkʌvərˌʌp/
  • Literature
translation icon : encubrimiento
  • The government conducted a major cover-up to hide the details of the scandal.
  • attempt at a cover-up
  • contributions to the cover-up
  • a massive cover-up

It's the most brazen cover up I've ever seen.

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Examples

  • This has shades of the Nixon White House that often it's the cover up that's worse than the initial crime itself.

  • Long-time observers of Washington politics know a full-fledged cover-up is only attempted by the White House as a last resort.

    Alene B. Duerk: The First Woman Admiral (2020)

  • And were there crimes committed in the cover up of his problems?

    Megyn Kelly

  • So you have to remember with every single one of these cover ups, the people in power want to stay in power.

  • Witness the greatest cover-up in human history.

    The Da Vinci Code (2006)

  • All of them were involved in the cover-up.

    National Champions (2021)

  • The reason for this strategic cover-up was political.

    Academic text (2017)

  • It's the most brazen cover up I've ever seen.

    H3 Podcast

  • But the fact that Damon Williams is involved shows me that the cover up is being orchestrated from on high.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • The Benghazi situation and subsequent cover-up is a summary of the entire Obama Administration.

    Blog text (4)

Synonyms

smoke and mirrors
vscover-up
  • Informal
19 7.4

Actions that hide the truth by making things look better

focuses on stopping disclosure of scandal facts rather than merely distracting attention
smokescreen
vscover-up
9 7.1

An action or statement that hides the real reason behind something

aims specifically to prevent public learning about a scandal or crime
concealment
vscover-up
8 5.0

Keeping something hidden or secret

is a targeted attempt to stop public discovery of scandalous or criminal information
conspiracy of silence
vscover-up
  • Literature
3 8.1

An agreement to stay silent to hide something wrong

is an organized effort to prevent public discovery rather than a private silence pact
concealing
vscover-up
1 5.3

An act of hiding something so people do not know about it

focuses on preventing public exposure of scandal or crime rather than general secrecy
misprision
vscover-up
  • Formal
1 9.9

A deliberate failure to tell the police about a crime

is a public attempt to stop people discovering scandal or crime information

Antonyms

disclosure
176 4.1

Making secret or new information known to others

exposure
88 3.9

Making a secret or hidden thing known to people

How Hidden

cover-up
  • Literature
137 5.5
whitewash
4 6.8
suppression
57 6.1

Surface Forms

cover-up singular
cover-ups plural

Morphology

cover-up = cover (semi-transparent) = up + cover

The meaning is built from 'cover' + 'up', but the specific sense of concealing wrongdoing is somewhat idiomatic rather than fully literal. [Postprocessing: moved 'up' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

The word cover-up comes from the parts cover ('to put something over') and up ('completely'), giving the clear image of putting something over so it cannot be seen. That's why a cover-up means an attempt to hide information about a crime or scandal from the public.