veneer

[vuh-neer]

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.

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

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

Synonyms for veneer

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4. façade, front, show, mask, guise.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for veneer

layer, semblance, mask, gloss, coating, exterior, facade, guise, finish, leaf, covering, appearance, overlay, cover, surface, face, disguise, show, blanch, plate

Examples from the Web for veneer

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
While it upholds a veneer of pretending that the Arab spring has benefitted Iran, in reality the opposite holds true.
Tehran's Pitiful Bid For Attention
Trita Parsi
September 21, 2012

Historical Examples of veneer

Or is it a factory, disguised with a veneer of the Puginesque?
The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Harry Furniss
A second time I glimpsed the Slav behind his veneer of civilization.
The Pirate of Panama
William MacLeod Raine
Some have no veneer like this boor, and some have the polish, but they are all the same underneath.
In Apple-Blossom Time
Clara Louise Burnham
Truthfulness is essential to culture, which, without it, will be only a veneer.
Girls and Women
Harriet E. Paine (AKA E. Chester}
This veneer had come unloosened in many places and was split up.
Jewish Children
Sholem Naumovich Rabinovich

British Dictionary definitions for veneer

veneer

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

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.

veneer in Medicine

veneer

[və-nîr′]

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.