Definition

1. Noun:
   • A screen or curtain used in parts of South Asia to separate women from men or strangers: This refers to a physical barrier used to maintain seclusion.
   • The Hindu or Muslim system or practice of secluding women from public observation: This refers to the social custom of keeping women in separate quarters or requiring them to cover their bodies and faces in public.
   • A state of isolation or seclusion: This is a figurative extension of the term, describing a condition of being hidden or withdrawn from society.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Physical Screen):
  • The women sat behind a purdah during the ceremony.
• Noun (Social System):
  • She grew up in a household that observed strict purdah.
• Noun (State of Isolation):
  • After the scandal, the politician lived in a self-imposed purdah.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in purdah": To be in a state of seclusion, either literally or figuratively.
  • The company's research division was in purdah while developing the new product.
• "To break purdah": To end a period of seclusion or to bring something out of isolation.
  • The author broke her purdah to promote her latest book.

Variants and Related Words

• Purdahnashin (noun, historical): A woman living in seclusion under the purdah system.
  • The novel tells the story of a 19th-century purdahnashin.

Synonyms

• Seclusion: The state of being private and away from other people.
• Veiling: The practice of covering, especially referring to the use of a veil.
• Isolation: The process or fact of isolating or being isolated.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Behind the purdah: Hidden from public view or knowledge.
  • The real decisions were made behind the purdah of the boardroom.

Noun

1. a screen used in India to separate women from men or strangers
2. the traditional Hindu or Muslim system of keeping women secluded
3. a state of social isolation