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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use veil in a sentence
The sun had ripped away the mists that, in the mountains, always hang damp and veillike between gray dawning and colorful day.
The Law of Hemlock Mountain | Hugh Lundsford
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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