Meaning & use
smoke screen
Something said or done to hide the truth or distract attention from real intentions.
See it in a sentence
The company's charity donation was just a smoke screen to distract from the scandal.
Soldiers used a smoke screen to conceal their retreat across the open field.
A note on using this word
Smoke screen was originally a literal military tactic and is now mostly used figuratively for deliberate deception.
Words with a similar meaning
coverdiversion
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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