paper over

verb

papered over; papering over; papers over

: to gloss over, explain away, or patch up (differences, disparities, etc.) especially in order to maintain a semblance of unity or agreement

: hide, conceal

Examples of paper over in a Sentence

the differences between the two factions are too great to be papered over in the name of party unity the company tried to paper over its red ink, issuing assurances that it was still financially sound

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

At home, the atmosphere was decorous, curious, gentle; outside, the culture of the nineteen-fifties was tougher, valorizing war and papering over a darker, more furtive kind of violence. —

Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2025 But his time in the uncompromising Test format, where flaws can't be papered over, appears up after such a losing battle against Boland. —

Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025 In the sugar cane fields of India, that papered over the worst abuses. —

Hwaida Saad Isayen Herrera Maya C. Miller Megha Rajagopalan, New York Times, 31 July 2024 Still, for years, the Democratic Party’s drift away from the working class could be papered over. —

Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for paper over