fig leaf

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fig leaf ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the leaf of a fig tree.

a representation of a fig leaf, used as an ornament in architecture, as a cover for the genitalia on a statue or in a painting, etc.

something intended to conceal what may be considered indecorous or indecent: to approach the facts of life with the fig leaves of roundabout expressions.

Nearby words

fifty-third, fifty-three, fifty-two, fiftypenny, fig, fig leaf, fig marigold, fig wart, fig wasp, fig-bird, fig.

Origin of fig leaf

First recorded in 1525–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fig leaf

I would not give a fig or a fig-leaf to know the truth of it, as far as any man can teach it me.
Imaginary Conversations and Poems|Walter Savage Landor
And so for a while she made pride serve as fig-leaf to her nakedness.
The Pace That Kills|Edgar Saltus
It was also in the Spring that Eve wearied of her fig-leaf toque.
The Foolish Almanak|Anonymous
It is the entire unveiling of a human heart; the tearing off of the fig-leaf covering of its sin.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)|John Greenleaf Whittier

He laughed weakly at the recollection, for she had been as innocent of garb as Eve before the fig-leaf adventure.
The Red One|Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for fig leaf

fig leaf

noun

a leaf from a fig tree

a representation of a leaf, usually a vine leaf rather than an actual fig leaf, used in painting or sculpture to cover the genitals of nude figures

a device intended to conceal something regarded as shameful or indecent

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fig leaf

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of fig leaf

Examples from the Web for fig leaf

British Dictionary definitions for fig leaf

fig leaf

noun