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
American
[veyl]
/ veɪl /
noun
-
veils
plural
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a piece of opaque or transparent material worn over the face for concealment, for protection from the elements, or to enhance the appearance.
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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.
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the life of a nun, especially a cloistered life.
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something that covers, separates, screens, or conceals.
a veil of smoke; the veil of death.
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a mask, disguise, or pretense.
to find fault under a veil of humor.
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Botany, Anatomy, Zoology. a velum.
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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.
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Scot. and North England. a caul.
verb (used with object)
-
veils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
veiled,
past participle, past
-
veiling
present participle
-
to cover or conceal with or as with a veil.
She veiled her face in black. A heavy fog veiled the shoreline.
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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
idioms
veil
1
British
/ veɪl /
noun
-
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
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part of a nun's headdress falling round the face onto the shoulders
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something that covers, conceals, or separates; mask
a veil of reticence
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the life of a nun in a religious order and the obligations entailed by it
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to become a nun
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Also called: velum. botany a membranous structure, esp the thin layer of cells connecting the edge of a young mushroom cap with the stipe
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anatomy another word for caul
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See humeral veil
verb
-
(tr) to cover, conceal, or separate with or as if with a veil
-
(intr) to wear or put on a veil
Veil
2
British
/ vaɪl /
noun
veil
Scientific
/ vāl /
veil
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
veilsimple
-
veilssimple
-
have veiledperfect
-
has veiledperfect
-
am veilingprogressive
-
are veilingprogressive
-
is veilingprogressive
-
have been veilingperfect progressive
-
has been veilingperfect progressive
Past
-
veiledsimple
-
had veiledperfect
-
was veilingprogressive
-
were veilingprogressive
-
had been veilingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing veil
Put a Lid On It: Hats, Hoods, and Other Headgear
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This Week In Words: May 31–June 5, 2020
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Finishing Touches: Words for Accessories
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A white veil from Claire’s at the mall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The burka is a veil worn by some Muslim women that covers the face and body, often leaving a mesh screen to see through.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Harry's 2023 autobiography, "Spare", lifted the veil on his royal rifts, describing William as his "arch-nemesis" and alleging he physically attacked him in a blazing 2019 row about Meghan.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
“You didn’t see a single veil back then,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Day after day, a vast heavy veil had been driving over London from the East, and it drove still, as if in the East there were an eternity of cloud and wind.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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
And after 40 years in Hollywood, he is taking on his first leading role in a TV series, "The Green Veil."
From Salon ● May 9, 2024
“We have a chance to change history. Make Simone Veil proud.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
Would the ghostly visitors from Beyond the Veil require place settings for food and drink?
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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
Under its 40-year-old de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has loosened its arch-conservatism, allowing women to drive and shed their veils.
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2025
The crowd’s alternative style was imbued with Latin flair: Latinos in black vaquero boots clicked their heels against the concrete, while lace veils flowed above their carefully teased hair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
Perhaps the canvas’ most beautiful feature is the rich skin of black acrylic paint within which he and his steed, both rendered in soft veils of thin gouache, are embedded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025
Behind it there hung a vast shadow, ominous as a thunder-cloud, the veils of Barad-dûr that was reared far away upon a long spur of the Ashen Mountains thrust down from the North.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
I learned an important lesson from this before my veiled bride even walked down the aisle: when, and how, to compromise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
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
Australia's Suncorp Super Netball is where the top money is for now and, while salaries are veiled in secrecy, the cream of the crop there are reputedly nudging close to the six-figure mark.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Around her, masked and veiled men and women crowded onto the terraced ledges, stamping their feet as the action proceeded below.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
The fabled front was always understood to be window dressing veiling frustrations, squelched desires, and other malignancies.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2023
The U.N. rights committee said Iran should "amend or repeal laws and policies that criminalise the non-compliance with compulsory veiling... and disband the morality police".
From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 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
She lifted the cover from the pot of rice, and steam rose like a thick smoke, veiling her face.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
