veil

noun \ ˈvāl \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Definition of veil

1 a : a length of cloth worn by women as a covering for the head and shoulders and often especially in Eastern countries for the face; specifically : the outer covering of a nun's headdress

b : a length of veiling or netting worn over the head or face or attached for protection or ornament to a hat or headdress

a bridal veil

c : any of various liturgical cloths; especially : a cloth used to cover the chalice

2 : the life of a nun —often used in the phrase take the veil

3 : a concealing curtain or cover of cloth

4 : something that resembles a veil

a veil of stars

; especially : something that hides or obscures like a veil

lift the veil of secrecy

5 : a covering body part or membrane: such as

a : velum

b : caul

See veil defined for English-language learners

See veil defined for kids

Examples of veil in a Sentence

Veils of moss draped the trees.
under the veil of descending darkness the thieves began their operation

Recent Examples of veil from the Web

The attire was formal: The groom wore tails; the bride, a dress from Pronovias, a veil, and headpiece by Jennifer Behr.

— Vogue, "Siri Tollerød and Martin Steffensen’s Wedding in the Norwegian Countryside Was a Fashion, and Family, Affair," 6 July 2018
The actress wore a floral garland on her head as well as a white veil, which appeared to extend all the way from the top of her head to the hem of her gown.

— michele corriston, PEOPLE.com, "Kit Harington Marries Rose Leslie in Romantic Scotland Ceremony — See the Photos!," 23 June 2018
Novack has the ability to lift the veil, or in Talley’s case, the billowing caftans, that have shrouded him in certain mystery.

— elizabeth wellington, Philly.com, "Black fashion superhero André Leon Talley finally gets his due in new documentary," 6 June 2018
Their team also put together a copy of Markle’s veil, which came in at an extravagant 16 feet embroidered with flowers to represent the many different Commonwealth countries.

— raisa bruner, Time, "This Bridal Shop Already Recreated Replicas of Meghan Markle's Wedding Gowns," 22 May 2018
Or how about when Prince Harry raised his bride-to-be's veil, and for one brief moment, even the most hardened of cynics swooned a little inside?

— aj willingham, CNN, "Every romantic, emotional moment from one heck of a royal wedding," 19 May 2018
In reality, the multimillion-dollar fortunes of Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, and LeBron James has only covered black poverty with a decadent veil, doing little to help close the racial wealth gap for a broader black America.

— antonio moore, Fortune, "Commentary: What We Get Wrong About Fixing the Racial Wealth Gap," 16 Apr. 2018
To his left his 44-year-old daughter, Maryam, occasionally adjusted her white veil.

— The Economist, "Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan, and jail," 14 July 2018
Women staged hijab protests, ripping off their veils.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "Iran’s Persistent Protests," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'veil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of veil

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin vēla, plural of vēlum "sail, awning, curtain," going back to *u̯eg-s-lo-, perhaps derivative of a verbal base *u̯eg-, akin to Old Irish -fig- "weaves," Old English wēoce "wick" — more at ¹wick

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

veil Synonyms

Synonyms

blanket, cloak, cope, cover, cover-up, covering, curtain, hood, mantle, mask, pall, robe, shroud, wraps;

Related Words

blind, concealer, screen, shield;

fig leaf, Trojan horse;

camouflage, disguise, facade (also façade), face, mask, veneer;

gloss, varnish;

Other Clothing Terms

babushka, brogue, bumbershoot, cravat, dishabille, furbelow, layette, raiment, spectator

veil

verb

Definition of veil

veiled; veiling; veils

transitive verb

: to cover, provide, obscure, or conceal with or as if with a veil

intransitive verb

: to put on or wear a veil

See veil defined for English-language learners

Examples of veil in a Sentence

Her eyes were partially veiled by her long, dark hair.
The sun was veiled by clouds.

Recent Examples of veil from the Web

Bougainvillea veiled my room’s outdoor sitting area, which had a couch and two love seats.

— howie kahn, Smithsonian, "These Volcanic, Italian Islands Have Been Beloved by Travelers Since Homeric Times," 11 July 2018
While the precise methods used by hacker activists are veiled in secrecy, Mr. Nimirovski said his team has used false digital identities to infiltrate hidden cybercrime sites to gather information on pedophiles.

— inna lazareva, The Christian Science Monitor, "Vigilante hackers work to save human trafficking victims," 20 June 2018
Today, the 7-Up company acknowledges the origin of their product’s name has always been veiled with mystery, although a number of theories exist.

— philip potempa, Post-Tribune, "7-Up cake? Bubbly history of the lemon-lime soda includes popular retro recipes," 6 July 2018
The exclusion has historical roots: Following orientalist stereotypes shored up under colonialism, the veiled and covered-up Muslim woman became the exemplar of oppressed persons.

— rafia zakaria, The New Republic, "The Feminist Future of Modesty," 12 June 2018
Yet its discontent comes veiled in a big chorus (the track, like several others on the album, was co-produced by Bjorn Yttling of the Swedish band Peter Bjorn & John).

— greg kot, chicagotribune.com, "Neko Case stomps the terra with the powerful ‘Hell-On’," 1 June 2018
She also is seated and veiled throughout the meeting.

— lidija dorjkhand, Philly.com, "Romance round-up: Bouchet's 'Heart on Fire,' Chase's 'Duke in Shining Armor,' and Balogh's 'Someone to Wed," 25 Feb. 2018
In essence, opening a new window into the universe—not just to observe black holes in new ways, but to watch a world of other massive objects that would otherwise have been veiled to our eyes.

— william herkewitz, Popular Mechanics, "At Long Last, Scientists Say They Have Confirmed Gravitational Waves," 11 Feb. 2016
Since campaigning began last month, posters of female candidates (veiled and unveiled) have been defaced and photos allegedly of candidates wearing revealing clothing have been spread online.

— The Economist, "Female candidates are facing a backlash in Iraq," 8 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of veil

Middle English veilen, borrowed from Anglo-French veler, verbal derivative of veil ¹veil

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

veil Synonyms

Other Clothing Terms

babushka, brogue, bumbershoot, cravat, dishabille, furbelow, layette, raiment, spectator

VEIL Defined for English Language Learners

veil

noun

Definition of veil for English Language Learners

: a piece of cloth or net worn usually by women over the head and shoulders and sometimes over the face
: something that covers or hides something else