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• veil
  veil

  noun

  a piece of opaque or transparent material worn over the face for concealment, for protection from the elements, or to enhance the appearance.
• Veil
  Veil

  noun

  Simone ( Annie ) (simɔn). born 1927, French stateswoman; president of the European Parliament (1979–82): a survivor of Nazi concentration camps

veil

American  

[veyl] / veɪl /

noun

• veils
  plural

1. a piece of opaque or transparent material worn over the face for concealment, for protection from the elements, or to enhance the appearance.

2. a piece of material worn so as to fall over the head and shoulders on each side of the face, forming a part of the headdress of a nun.

3. the life of a nun, especially a cloistered life.

4. something that covers, separates, screens, or conceals.

   a veil of smoke; the veil of death.

5. a mask, disguise, or pretense.

   to find fault under a veil of humor.

6. Botany, Anatomy, Zoology. a velum.

7. Mycology. a membrane that covers the immature mushroom of many fungi and breaks apart as the mushroom expands, leaving distinctive remnants on the cap, stalk, or stalk base.

8. Scot. and North England. a caul.

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verb (used with object)

• veils,
  present (3rd person singular)
• veiled,
  past participle,  past
• veiling
  present participle

1. to cover or conceal with or as with a veil.

   She veiled her face in black. A heavy fog veiled the shoreline.

2. to hide the real nature of; mask; disguise.

   to veil one's intentions.

verb (used without object)

• veils,
  present (3rd person singular)
• veiled,
  past participle,  past
• veiling
  present participle

1. to don or wear a veil.

   In certain Islamic countries women must veil.

idioms

1. take the veil, to become a nun.

Veil ¹ British  

/ vaɪl /

noun

1. Simone ( Annie ) (simɔn). born 1927, French stateswoman; president of the European Parliament (1979–82): a survivor of Nazi concentration camps

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veil ² British  

/ veɪl /

noun

1. a piece of more or less transparent material, usually attached to a hat or headdress, used to conceal or protect a woman's face and head

2. part of a nun's headdress falling round the face onto the shoulders

3. something that covers, conceals, or separates; mask

   a veil of reticence

4. the life of a nun in a religious order and the obligations entailed by it

5. to become a nun

6. Also called: velum.  botany a membranous structure, esp the thin layer of cells connecting the edge of a young mushroom cap with the stipe

7. anatomy another word for caul

8. See humeral veil

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verb

1. (tr) to cover, conceal, or separate with or as if with a veil

2. (intr) to wear or put on a veil

veil Scientific  

/ vāl /

1. A membranous covering or part, especially a membrane surrounding the young mushrooms of certain basidiomycete fungi. In some species the membrane (called a partial veil) extends only from the stalk to the cap. As the cap expands, the veil breaks, leaving a ring called an annulus on the stalk and often scalelike pieces on the cap. These veil remnants are important for identifying species of mushrooms.

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veil More Idioms  

1. see draw a veil over.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• veiler
  noun
• veil-like
  adjective
• veilless
  adjective
• veillike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• veils
  plural

Participles

• veiling
  present
• veiled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• veil
  simple
• veils
  simple
• have veiled
  perfect
• has veiled
  perfect
• am veiling
  progressive
• are veiling
  progressive
• is veiling
  progressive
• have been veiling
  perfect progressive
• has been veiling
  perfect progressive

Past

• veiled
  simple
• had veiled
  perfect
• was veiling
  progressive
• were veiling
  progressive
• had been veiling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will veil
  simple
• will have veiled
  perfect
• will be veiling
  progressive
• will have been veiling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of veil

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English veile < Anglo-French < Latin vēla, neuter plural (taken in VL as feminine singular) of vēlum covering; (v.) Middle English veilen < Anglo-French veiler, derivative of veile

Explanation

A veil is a cloth covering the head and face, mostly worn by women. Wedding veils are drawn back when the groom hears, "Now you may kiss the bride." (Or else the groom gets a gauzy mouthful.) This is a technical term for part of an embryo or mushroom, but it’s usually a covering for the head and face. Priests wear veils during certain Catholic ceremonies, and a grieving widow might wear a veil at her husband's funeral. To veil also means to conceal something. You could veil your attempt to steal some cookies by turning the TV up loud as a distraction. When something — like a lie — is "thinly veiled," people can see right through it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

veil Veil veils veiled veiling

She is Syria's first-ever lawmaker to wear the full-face Islamic niqab veil.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

“You didn’t see a single veil back then,” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Madonna started the record craving anonymity but by the end she's lifted that purple veil.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

While a further increase in borrowing costs is possible, Lane said the ECB isn’t committed to any rate path and is deliberately “drawing a veil over where we might go in the future.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

With a gentle tug, she lowered the dark veil back over her face.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Within and around this region lie several popular deep-sky objects, including the Dumbbell Nebula, the Ring Nebula, the North America Nebula, and the Veil Nebula.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026

Badinter joined other national heroes, including author Victor Hugo, French-American member of the French Resistance Josephine Baker and Simone Veil, the women's rights heavyweight and health minister who championed legalising abortion.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025

Episodes of "The Green Veil" are available on a new, free streaming platform called The Network, which was created by Leguizamo's longtime friend and collaborator on the project, Aram Rappaport.

From Salon ● May 9, 2024

“We have a chance to change history. Make Simone Veil proud.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2024

If not for her peek Beyond the Veil, I would never have known my long-lost Edward lives!’

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Marked by veils of heavily diluted color that are rubbed into the canvas weave to create a weightless, matte effect, its soft, evanescent surface was intended to read, Whistler said, “like breath on glass.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

No one lies down—the chorus members don delicate face veils and hold lighted candles to show when they are sleeping.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Draft beer, peanuts and big-screen sports... the scene is reminiscent of pubs worldwide, but in Saudi Arabia's capital, customers in white robes or black veils sip alcohol-free pints with no expectation of a hangover.

From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025

Suzanne has an iron will that she thinly veils with a solicitous smile.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2025

Miss Love was planning a window display of linen dusters, dust veils, and driving caps with goggles.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

But so far she hasn’t stumped for him, instead lobbing veiled criticisms of Talarico’s efforts to win over Black voters.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Jackson described the document as a thinly veiled attempt to “prejudice Mr. Flores and impact the jury pool” by releasing damaging information about the officer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Last week, she joined a vigil at a Buddhist temple where residents prayed for peace -- a veiled plea for their homes to be spared.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

I tried a mix of activities, a couple of which turned out to be thinly veiled sales pitches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

Hesiod says that only when men have finally become completely wicked will Nemesis and Aidos, their beautiful faces veiled in white raiment, leave the wide-wayed earth and depart to the company of the immortals.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

The fabled front was always understood to be window dressing veiling frustrations, squelched desires, and countless other malignancies.

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2023

It’s hard to keep your eyes focused on the road as you behold a gauzy mist swirling around the mountains, veiling deep gorges, wide fjords, occasional turf-roofed dwellings and waterfalls.

From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2023

She styled the tailored look with a headpiece featuring a crinoline base with a layer of tulle and merry widow veiling, adorned with a ribbon bow.

From Washington Times ● May 6, 2023

The role of the morality police, which enforces veiling laws, came under scrutiny after a detainee, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, died in its custody in mid-September.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2022

Now Jack was veiling too and Ralph could no longer make himself heard.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

Related Words

• cloak
• curtain
• mask
• shroud