noun
hush-up; cover-up
Refers to the act of suppressing or covering up a scandal, incident, or inconvenient truth, often by those in power.
政治家は不祥事のもみ消しを図った。
The politician attempted to cover up the scandal.
会社は事故の揉み消しに必死だった。
The company was desperate to hush up the accident.
隠蔽 is a more formal term for concealment or cover-up, often used in legal or official contexts, while 揉み消し is more colloquial and implies actively suppressing information.
Compound of 揉み (continuative form of 揉む 'to rub, crumple') and 消し (continuative form of 消す 'to erase, extinguish'), literally 'rub out and erase', metaphorically extended to mean 'cover up' or 'hush up'.