veil
a piece of opaque or transparent material worn over the face for concealment, for protection from the elements, or to enhance the appearance.
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.
the life of a nun, especially a cloistered life.
something that covers, separates, screens, or conceals: a veil of smoke; the veil of death.
a mask, disguise, or pretense: to find fault under a veil of humor.
Botany, Anatomy, Zoology. a velum.
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.
Scot. and North England. a caul.
to cover or conceal with or as with a veil: She veiled her face in black. A heavy fog veiled the shoreline.
to hide the real nature of; mask; disguise: to veil one's intentions.
to don or wear a veil: In certain Islamic countries women must veil.
Idioms about veil
take the veil, to become a nun.
Origin of veil
1Other words from veil
- veilless, adjective
- veillike, adjective
Words that may be confused with veil
- vale, veil
Words Nearby veil
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use veil in a sentence
I’ve asked for records and gotten stonewalled behind the veil of public safety.
Lessons From the Year in Surveillance Tech Debacles | Jesse Marx | December 28, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoThe boy, whose face is covered by a semi-transparent veil, carries a lamb.
There is a veil of shame and myth regarding the use of cannabis.
Myths and Shame Shouldn’t Guide Cannabis Regulations | John Bertsch | September 8, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoIn her book, Western Representations of the Muslim Woman, Moja Kahf traces one of the first discussions of the veil in western fiction to the novel Don Quixote.
We Are All Niqabis Now: Coronavirus Masks Reveal Hypocrisy Of Face Covering Bans | LGBTQ-Editor | April 29, 2020 | No Straight NewsBecause one feature of contempt, it strikes me, is that there’s a little bit of a veil of secrecy over it.
What Does Covid-19 Mean for Cities (and Marriages)? (Ep. 410) | Stephen J. Dubner | March 26, 2020 | Freakonomics
Mrs. Kouachi works at a nursery and has worn the veil since she made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 2008.
No piece of cloth throughout history has sparked more controversy as the veil.
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil | Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights | October 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Arab women wore their colored hejabs, and the non-Muslim women dressed modestly and without a veil.
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil | Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights | October 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf users want to send naughty photos with a veil of privacy, opt for the pixilated shower door filter.
Swipe Right For Sex: Mixxxer Is Tinder for the Porn Star Set | Aurora Snow | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWatching a woman in a white dress and veil realize she just married the wrong person should be reality TV gold.
Madame Ratignolle, more careful of her complexion, had twined a gauze veil about her head.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinLady Maude sat alone in her room; the white robes upon her, the orthodox veil, meant to shade her fair face thrown back from it.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodAs you neared it, however, the watery veil seemed flung over them, like the foamy tulle over a bride.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayAs I receded, the watery veil would disappear, and as I approached it would again take form.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayNo Jewish historian nor scientist mentioned the rending of the veil of the temple, nor the rising of the saints from the dead.
God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford
British Dictionary definitions for veil (1 of 2)
/ (veɪl) /
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
part of a nun's headdress falling round the face onto the shoulders
something that covers, conceals, or separates; mask: a veil of reticence
the veil the life of a nun in a religious order and the obligations entailed by it
take the veil to become a nun
Also called: velum botany a membranous structure, esp the thin layer of cells connecting the edge of a young mushroom cap with the stipe
anatomy another word for caul
See humeral veil
(tr) to cover, conceal, or separate with or as if with a veil
(intr) to wear or put on a veil
Origin of veil
1Derived forms of veil
- veiler, noun
- veilless, adjective
- veil-like, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Veil (2 of 2)
/ (French vaɪl) /
Simone (Annie) (simɔn). born 1927, French stateswoman; president of the European Parliament (1979–82): a survivor of Nazi concentration camps
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
Scientific definitions for veil
[ vāl ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with veil
see draw a veil over.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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