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.
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 life of a nun in a religious order and the obligations entailed by it
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
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
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Molly, 32, wore a white short-sleeved mini dress with a matching pillbox hat and netted veil for the occassion, while Tom, 26, wore a black suit and tie.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
On the cover of her latest album, Confessions II, Madonna's face is obscured by a purple veil.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
“Two years later I had a veil already,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Her face was concealed by a veil, a wide-brim hat and a white parasol that she said was inspired by an image of a jellyfish that excited her 2-year-old daughter.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
The cliffs got closer, and he could see the islet shrouded in a veil of slashing rain and gray sludge.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
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
This unexpected news from Beyond the Veil had been worth every penny, but now Penelope had not a cent to her name with which to buy tickets to Heathcote.
From "The Interrupted Tale" 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
Draft beer, peanuts and big-screen sports... the scene is reminiscent of pubs worldwide, but in Saudi Arabia's capital, customers in white robes or black veils sip alcohol-free pints with no expectation of a hangover.
From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025
The Ministry of Justice has begun separating entry for men and women, plus there have been reports of men distributing flyers on buses and in Umayyad Mosque in Damascus asking women to wear full-faced veils.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2025
The dance is hazy in my mind, a blur of translucent black veils and long silvery scarves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
They wore no veils, but as they came forward, Desdemona saw brown school oxfords on their feet.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
"Presentations should not turn into self-representations," he wrote, in a thinly veiled swipe at Federov's long, detailed news conference last week.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The galaxy is heavily veiled by dust, making it difficult to see in visible light.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
I tried a mix of activities, a couple of which turned out to be thinly veiled sales pitches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
In briefings to local media, government sources have been more critical, labelling the rumours "wild speculation" -- in German, "wueste Spekulation", a word play seen as a veiled dig at Merz's potential challenger, Wuest.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Hesiod says that only when men have finally become completely wicked will Nemesis and Aidos, their beautiful faces veiled in white raiment, leave the wide-wayed earth and depart to the company of the immortals.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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
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
A century or more ago, strict veiling was largely limited to Iran’s upper classes.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
With each new season the character development wanes further, and metaphors lose more of their creative veiling.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2022
The wind was turning his canoe around, veiling his words.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
