veil

noun \ ˈvāl \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 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

Seeing through the lies isn’t the same as lifting the veil; that requires a collective effort.

— minda honey, Longreads, "The Power in Knowing: Black Women, HIV, and the Realities of Safe Sex," 19 June 2018
The government recently announced plans to ban girls in elementary schools and kindergartens from wearing headscarves, adding to existing restrictions on veils.

— Washington Post, "Austria to close 7 mosques, expel imams in crackdown," 8 June 2018
Hoping to increase transparency in the beauty industry, Stowaway, a brand that specializes in affordable, travel-size makeup products, is lifting the veil on lipstick markups.

— meghan overdeep, Southern Living, "WATCH: You’ll Never Believe How Little It Costs to Make a Tube of Lipstick," 4 June 2018
Restrictions on full-face veils are also in place in Belgium, Austria and parts of Switzerland, while other European countries have debated the issue.

— laura smith-spark, CNN, "Denmark's Parliament bans wearing of face veils in public," 31 May 2018
Here's the full list of the Commonwealth countries and the flowers they're represented by on the veil.

— krystin arneson, Glamour, "The Sweet Hidden Detail in Meghan Markle's Wedding Veil," 19 May 2018
Fifty-three flowers that represent the nations of the British Commonwealth were embroidered on the bride’s veil.

— elizabeth wellington, Philly.com, "Royal wedding fashion: Meghan Markle sparkles in Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy | Elizabeth Wellington," 19 May 2018
In a nod to Markle's California roots, a California poppy was among the flowers embroidered on the veil.

— christina boyle, latimes.com, "Joyous crowds greet newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after their marriage ceremony," 19 May 2018
The country’s parliament voted 75 to 30 to implement a law that prohibits wearing veils in public, the BBC reported.

— abigail abrams, Time, "Denmark Just Became the Latest European Country to Ban Burqas And Niqabs," 1 June 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

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
When the language is coming from the mouths of people who are part of an oppressed group, people holding those views will use the oppressed to veil their own bigotry.

— clint smith, The New Republic, "Wake Up, Mr. West!," 3 May 2018
Mixing pigment into wax — an encaustic technique traced to ancient Egypt, though rarely employed in contemporary art — creates a lumpy, optically veiled surface.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "Does the Broad's new Jasper Johns exhibition hit the bull's-eye? It gets darn close," 9 Feb. 2018
Here’s a video in which Karl Stefanovic, the male anchor of an Australia’s Today show barely veils his disgust for the creature, which, given Pat’s charisma, is frankly hard to fathom.

— douglas main, Newsweek, "The World’s Oldest, And Possibly Largest, Wombat Turns 29," 26 Aug. 2014
Just because the operation was thinly veiled, however, does not mean that the Russian trolling — creating provocative online posts about immigration, religion and race to try to sway voters — lacked high-level support.

— neil macfarquhar, New York Times, "Russian Trolls Were Sloppy, but Indictment Still ‘Points at the Kremlin’," 17 Feb. 2018
The entire cocoon, or chrysalis, will then be veiled in a shroud of clear balloons with a hint of iridescence.

— lisa deaderick, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Top weekend events: Martin Luther King Jr. parade, 'Crystal Cortex,' Karl Denson's Tiny Universe," 12 Jan. 2018
Better yet is the spicy ahi, veiled in mayonnaise with a streak of heat.

— author: ligaya mishan, Anchorage Daily News, "Heading home to Hawaii in search of poke," 10 Jan. 2018
Other critics say some churches skirt this prohibition anyway by participating in get-out-the-vote drives and discussing social issues in neighborhoods and towns where political passions and motives are thinly veiled.

— stephen koff, cleveland.com, "Divorce, unborn babies, churches and health care: 8 surprises in the Republican tax plan," 3 Nov. 2017

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

veil

verb

Definition of veil for English Language Learners

: to cover (something) with a veil or with something that is like a veil : to hide or partly hide (something)

VEIL Defined for Kids

veil

noun \ ˈvāl \

Definition of veil for Students

1 : a piece of cloth or net worn usually by women over the head and shoulders and sometimes over the face

2 : something that covers or hides like a veil

a veil of secrecy

Her hazel eyes, under their veil of long lashes, had a greenish flash to them.
—Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain

veil

verb

Definition of veil for Students

veiled; veiling

: to cover with or as if with a piece of cloth or net for the head and shoulders or face

Medical Dictionary

veil

noun \ ˈvā(ə)l \

medical Definition of veil

: a covering body part or membrane; especially : caul 2

Learn More about veil

See words that rhyme with veil Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for veil Spanish Central: Translation of veil Nglish: Translation of veil for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of veil for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about veil

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veil

Definition of veil

Examples of veil in a Sentence

Recent Examples of veil from the Web

Origin and Etymology of veil

veil Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Clothing Terms

veil

Definition of veil

Examples of veil in a Sentence

Recent Examples of veil from the Web

Origin and Etymology of veil

veil Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Clothing Terms

Phrases Related to VEIL

Related Phrases

VEIL Defined for English Language Learners

veil

Definition of veil for English Language Learners

veil

Definition of veil for English Language Learners

VEIL Defined for Kids

veil

Definition of veil for Students

veil

Definition of veil for Students

Medical Dictionary

veil

medical Definition of veil

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