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

vendémiaire, vendôme, vene-, venectasia, venectomy, veneer, veneer patch, veneering, venenation, venene, venenose

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 forms

ve·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 Forms

veneerer, 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

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.