to lift the veil
4
7.1
- idiom
:
levantar el velo
- The documentary aims to lift the veil on the hidden practices of the fashion industry.
- lift the veil of secrecy
- lift the veil a bit
- begin lifting the veil
As soon as you start to lift the veil very slightly, you find it everywhere.
- As soon as you start to lift the veil very slightly, you find it everywhere.
- And again, the silver lining in this is Trump has finally shown and lifted the veil on the entire Republican Party.
Examples
-
"We sages have an infallible means of lifting the veil."
Fiction book (1995) -
The trustees' lawsuit lifts the veil on growing distrust between the alumni-elected members and their colleagues.
Academic text (2016) -
As soon as you start to lift the veil very slightly, you find it everywhere.
-
And again, the silver lining in this is Trump has finally shown and lifted the veil on the entire Republican Party.
-
"I'm offering to lift the veil in this instance, Chester."
Fiction book (1995) -
Her voice was flat and dead as she began to lift the veil that had enthralled her daughter's life from the day she was born.
Fiction book (1994) -
My siblings and I suffer from depression, and it's always good when someone suffering lifts the veil to talk about what really happens during the fight.
Blog text (32) -
"WHY in the World are They Spraying?" lifts the veil on a major geo-engineering agenda that is at the forefront of our fight for food sovereignty.
Blog text (25) -
In a December guest blog, Tara Twomey lifted the veil on the OCC's report of disappointing re-default rates on modification.
Blog text (7) -
The truth is that at this point they do have a choice, but if the French anti-mask law passes, they—and more importantly their oppressors—will be left with no choice but to lift the veil and see what true liberty looks like.
Academic text (2010)
Synonyms
∞
2.3
Show something that was hidden or secret
342
4.1
Reveal hidden facts or bad actions to people
243
3.5
Reveal secret facts to the public
219
4.1
To tell secret information to the public without permission
109
4.1
To make something known for the first time
45
6.2
To tell secret or private information to people
32
3.7
Tell secret or private information to other people
31
4.1
To show something that was hidden, often feelings or body parts
26
3.9
To show information people do not know
23
4.2
Show what someone or something really is
20
3.7
To show facts that were hidden before
8
3.7
Make secret information known to the public
8
6.8
Reveal secret information that shocks people
7
4.0
Make something visible by removing a cover
2
4.4
To tell people about something secret
2
5.5
To show something hidden so people can see it
2
7.7
Reveal a secret or someone's identity
1
6.5
To reveal something hidden or forgotten
1
6.5
To make a secret suddenly become known
1
7.7
To make something hidden become visible by removing a cover or showing the truth
1
7.2
Show who you really are instead of pretending
1
7.5
Reveal information that was hidden during a study or experiment
Antonyms
How Revealed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to reveal' is directly and transparently derivable from combining lift (to raise or remove) with veil (a covering), since removing a cover naturally exposes what was hidden. This is a common, cross-linguistic metaphor (removing a cover = revealing) and follows basic compositional logic that a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily understand.
Etymology
Lift the veil comes from the simple image of lifting a cloth that covers a face or an object. When you lift a veil, you can see what was hidden, so the phrase means 'to reveal' or 'make known'.