veneer

[ vuh-neer ]

/ vəˈnɪər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR veneer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a thin layer of wood or other material for facing or inlaying wood.

any of the thin layers of wood glued together to form plywood.

Building Trades. a facing of a certain material applied to a different one or to a type of construction not ordinarily associated with it, as a facing of brick applied to a frame house.

a superficially valuable or pleasing appearance: a cruel person with a veneer of kindliness.

verb (used with object)

to overlay or face (wood) with thin sheets of some material, as a fine wood, ivory, or tortoise shell.

to face or cover (an object) with any material that is more desirable as a surface material than the basic material of the object; revet.

to cement (layers of wood veneer) to form plywood.

to give a superficially valuable or pleasing appearance to.

Nearby words

Origin of veneer

1695–1705; earlier fineering, faneering < German Fourni(e)rung, Furni(e)rung, equivalent to furni(e)ren to furnish (< French fournir) + -ung -ing¹

SYNONYMS FOR veneer

4. façade, front, show, mask, guise.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR veneer ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsve·neer·er, nounun·ve·neered, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for veneer

But now that veneer is gone, and what remains is a callow man-child at odds with himself.
What's Happened to Don Draper? Why Everyone’s Favorite ‘Mad Men’ Stud Needs His Mojo Back|Lizzie Crocker|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, the fact that Tris faces and eviscerates her own anxiety lends the simulation scene a veneer of victory and autonomy.
Sex Won’t Kill Young Adult Heroines: ‘Divergent’ and Rape Culture|Amy Zimmerman|March 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some of his preciousness is a veneer, however, for his fatalistic streak.
Ralph Fiennes Discusses ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel,’ J. Lo, and That ‘Seinfeld’ Episode|Marlow Stern|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But that veneer hides an inner drive so powerful that it risks turning on itself.
Are Female Long-Distance Runners More Prone To Suicidal Depression?|Emily de la Bruyere|February 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Because without the veneer of the beauty products I had at xoJane, I am awful.
The Girl Who Wrote About Drugs: Cat Marnell on Vice, Addiction & More|Caitlin Dickson|July 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was passing the boundary which divides the old Adam, which is in every man, from the veneer of early training.
The Story of the Foss River Ranch|Ridgwell Cullum
His sons too travelled into every land as the bearers of the veneer called civilization.
The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer|Richard Clynton
In this process the brass is thin, and, like the ornamental wood or tortoise-shell, forms a veneer.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3|Various
Number 37 was an old concrete-and-steel structure of the George VI period, faced with a veneer of red brick.
The Penal Cluster|Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)
It is used in cooperage, veneer work and for interior finish.
Studies of Trees|Jacob Joshua Levison

British Dictionary definitions for veneer

veneer

/ (vɪˈnɪə) /

noun

a thin layer of wood, plastic, etc, with a decorative or fine finish that is bonded to the surface of a less expensive material, usually wood

a superficial appearance, esp one that is pleasinga veneer of gentility

any facing material that is applied to a different backing material

any one of the layers of wood that is used to form plywood

verb (tr)

to cover (a surface) with a veneer

to bond together (thin layers of wood) to make plywood

to conceal (something) under a superficially pleasant surface

Derived Formsveneerer, noun

Word Origin for veneer

C17: from German furnieren to veneer, from Old French fournir to furnish

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

Word Origin and History for veneer

veneer

1702, from German Furnier, from furnieren "to cover with a veneer, inlay," from French fournir "to furnish, accomplish," from Middle French fornir "to furnish," from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German frumjan "to provide;" see furnish). A word batted back and forth from German to French to German. Figurative sense of "mere outward show of some good quality" is attested from 1868. The verb is recorded from 1728.

Medicine definitions for veneer

veneer

[ və-nîr′ ]

n.

A layer of tooth-colored material, usually porcelain or acrylic resin, attached to and covering the surface of a metal crown or natural tooth structure.