Meaning & use
papered
Last updated
“papered” is a form of “paper”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Covered the walls of a room with sheets of decorative wallpaper.
Grammar: Takes an object: she papered the hallway.
Patterns
- paper something
- paper something with something
We papered the nursery in pale yellow stripes last weekend.
The landlord papered the bedroom before the new tenants arrived.
They papered over the old cracks and then painted the ceiling.
verbtransitive
Covered or filled a place with large numbers of sheets, notices or leaflets.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with with: they papered the town with posters.
Patterns
- paper something with something
Volunteers papered the neighborhood with flyers about the lost dog.
Protesters papered the office windows with angry notes.
The students papered the campus with ads for the concert.
verbtransitivefigurative
Hid a problem or disagreement with a pretense of calm, so it seemed solved when it was not (used in 'papered over').
Grammar: Usually used in the phrasal form paper over something.
Patterns
- paper over something
The managers papered over their dispute before the board meeting.
The team papered over the software flaw instead of fixing it.
He papered over the awkward silence with a joke.
Word forms
| base form | paper |
|---|---|
| third person singular | papers |
| present participle | papering |
Common combinations
- papered the walls
- They papered the walls in a floral pattern.
- freshly papered
- The freshly papered room smelled of glue.
- papered over the cracks
- The coach papered over the cracks in the squad after the loss.
- papered with posters
- The fence was papered with posters for the fair.
- newly papered
- The newly papered hallway looked much brighter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wallpapered
- Wallpapered is the more specific word for covering walls only, while papered can also describe covering a place with notices.
- plastered
- Plastered suggests covering a surface thickly and sometimes untidily with posters, whereas papered can sound neater.
- concealed
- Concealed is a general word for hiding something and lacks the sense of a thin, flimsy cover that papered over implies.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: papered or paperd?
papered vs paperd
This is a misspelling; the correct past tense is papered, with -ed after paper.
Practice
The two departments never solved their conflict; they simply ___ the problem before the visit from head office.
Choose one answer.
Paper over is the set phrase for hiding a problem without fixing it. Papered up, down and off are not used with this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “papered”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.