smokescreen
/ˈsmoʊkˌskɹin/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.59 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Anything used metaphorically to conceal or distract.
Example Sentences
- "Ensign Whitely began to tell of the surprise encounter of Admiral Sprague’s escort-carrier force with the main battle line of the Japanese Navy off Samar, in a chaos of rain squalls and smoke screens."
- "C.I.E. Class "D14" 4-4-0 No. 89 covers its tracks with a magnificent smokescreen as it pulls out of Dun Laoghaire with the 9.0 a.m. boat train for Dublin."
- "However, before most of this was experimentally and observationally discovered, they were perhaps best known for their “almost unique” ability to squirt ink when harangued, creating a smokescreen before jetting off to safety."
- "All that talk is just a smokescreen to disguise the fact that he has nothing to say."
- "It was all very plausible and, as he poured out his smokescreen of words, I became fidgety for fear Fallon would be too direct with him."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsmoʊkˌskɹin/