veil

noun

\ˈvāl

Definition of veil

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

veil

verb

veiled; veiling; veils

Definition of veil (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to put on or wear a veil

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Examples of veil in a Sentence

Noun

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

Verb

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Abderrahim, a former lawmaker and militant for women’s rights, doesn’t wear a veil. — Bouazza Ben Bouazza, The Seattle Times, "Woman from moderate Islamic party elected mayor of Tunis," 3 July 2018 Abderrahim, a former lawmaker and militant for women's rights, doesn't wear a veil. — NBC News, "Tunisia's capital elects first female mayor," 3 July 2018 While only a small percentage of France's Islamic population wears the veil, many Muslims see this as prejudiced, and an affront to their religious freedom, according to Yahoo.com. — Alexandra Gekas, Woman's Day, "France's Ban on the Muslim Face Veil Causes a Stir," 11 Apr. 2011 Then-French Prime Minister François Fillon decreed in 2011 that women were banned from wearing face veils outside of the home except in mosques or as car passengers. — Jesse J. Holland And Russell Contreras, chicagotribune.com, "Trump draws fierce criticism for saying immigration is 'changing the culture' of Europe for worse," 14 July 2018 In the public realm in Iran, conservative Islamic rules apply and are enforced, so women have to wear veils and are normally barred from singing or dancing. — Thomas Erdbrink, New York Times, "Iran’s Shaming of Young Dancer Draws Backlash," 9 July 2018 Many Saudi women in conservative places like Qassim still wear face-covering veils called niqabs. — Margherita Stancati And Donna Abdulaziz, WSJ, "Saudi Women Drive Toward More Equality After Ban Is Lifted," 25 June 2018 Rights groups say such bills discriminate against Muslim women who wear face-concealing veils. — Laura Smith-spark, CNN, "Denmark's Parliament bans wearing of face veils in public," 31 May 2018 The spacecraft finally pierced the cometary veil of dust and shining glitter gas and produced the first image of the comet’s nucleus. — Dennis Overbye, BostonGlobe.com, "Bradford Smith, 86, dies; showed postcards from outer space," 13 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Driving is not veiling, nor is anyone being forced to do it. — Rafia Zakaria, The New Republic, "Driving Toward Change," 23 June 2018 Tobin veils the haunting melody in smoky orchestral texture fronted by a jazz quartet of vocalist (Davis), trumpeter (Evans), bassist Kyle Motl and percussionist/drummer Kjell Nordeson. — Marcus Overton, sandiegouniontribune.com, "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus close season with trademark eclecticism," 10 June 2018 The scene’s veiled reference becomes all the more pointed when Lisa turns to gaze at a photo of Apu on her nightstand. — Nina Metz, chicagotribune.com, "'The Simpsons' and 'Silicon Valley' and when TV showrunners avoid creative challenges," 12 Apr. 2018 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

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.

History and Etymology for veil

Noun

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 wick entry 1

Verb

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

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Dictionary Entries near veil

Phrases Related to veil

take the veil

Statistics for veil

Last Updated

11 Oct 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for veil

The first known use of veil was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for veil

veil

noun

English Language Learners Definition of veil

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

English Language Learners Definition of veil (Entry 2 of 2)

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

See the full definition for veil in the English Language Learners Dictionary

veil

noun

\ˈvāl

Kids Definition of veil

(Entry 1 of 2)

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