ni·qab | \ ni-ˈkäb 
\
\variants:
or less commonly niqaab
Definition of niqab
: a veil for covering the hair and face except for the eyes that is worn by some Muslim women
Examples of niqab in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web One wore a niqab, a full-face veil worn by many Muslim women.
—
Alaa Elassar, CNN, "South Carolina official faces criticism for dressing in traditional Arab clothing to play a terrorist in a training exercise," 22 Aug. 2020 After covering their faces for so long and being the subject of discrimination for doing so, Muslim women have highlighted a double standard that women who wear face coverings, known as niqab, now see.
—
Meredith Spelbring, Detroit Free Press, "Masks have become an indicator of politics. How did we get here?," 15 May 2020 And Algeria prohibited women from wearing the niqab at work in 2018.
—
Washington Post, "Tunisia becomes the latest country to ban full-face veils after a spate of terrorist attacks," 5 July 2019 For a long time, Raghda and Rafaa seemed fated to retrace the path of their five older sisters: arranged marriages while still young; children soon thereafter; faces covered with the niqab, the black veil that reveals only the eyes.
—
Vivian Yee, New York Times, "Saudi Law Granted Women New Freedoms. Their Families Don’t Always Agree.," 14 Mar. 2020 The niqab and hijab, or headscarf, were banned under secular governments until the ouster of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime in 2011, Reuters reports.
—
Michelle Lou, CNN, "Tunisia bans full-face coverings in public institutions after twin bombings," 5 July 2019 Bilal had demanded his wife wear a niqab, or face veil, and his brother had already left for the caliphate.
—
Souad Mekhennet, Washington Post, "Disarmed but not defused," 27 Dec. 2019 The woman, according to local officials, had been beaten to death by a group of female ISIS supporters because of her refusal to wear a niqab.
—
NBC News, "How one Syrian camp shows the fight against ISIS isn't over," 20 Sep. 2019 The women, cloaked in niqab, are nearly impossible to identify.
—
Arwa Damon And Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, "A forgotten camp in Syria could be the birthplace of ISIS' revenge generation," 12 Sep. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'niqab.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on niqab
What made you want to look up niqab? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Namesakes Word Quiz
- Which of the following is a fruit named after a Moroccan seaport?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share niqab
Time Traveler for niqab
The first known use of niqab was in 1936
See more words from the same year