as in veil
something that covers or conceals like a piece of cloth
under the coverture of a raging snowstorm, the rebels undertook their surprise attack on the fortress
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of coverture
While Northern women were trapped in coverture, Southern states were bypassing coverture specifically for the purpose of giving married women rights to own enslaved people.
—
Trevon Logan, The Conversation, 10 June 2024
Heavenly Mother, according to our own doctrine, can’t be some wilting Victorian flower shrinking under the protective coverture of a strong man.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 May 2022
The famous legal scholar William Blackstone had interpreted coverture rather strictly in the 1760s, and the American Revolution did nothing to change that.
—Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2022
That started to change by about the 18th century, when coverture laws—which counted wives as legal property of their husbands—grew more entrenched in Britain, and evolved to effectively forbid women from owning land at all.
—Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2021
In the nascent American Republic, where some humans could vote and most others were in coverture to their voting husbands or were the property of those men, the notion of majority representation was corrupted a priori.
—Shannon Pufahl, The New York Review of Books, 21 Apr. 2020
Coverture also meant that a man had largely unrestrained access to his wife’s body.
—Elizabeth Weingarten, The Atlantic, 15 June 2017
The answer partially lies in the practices of coverture, embedded in the old law of domestic relations that American colonists inherited from the British and didn’t change after the Revolution.
—Elizabeth Weingarten, The Atlantic, 15 June 2017
Trevon Logan, The Conversation, 10 June 2024
Heavenly Mother, according to our own doctrine, can’t be some wilting Victorian flower shrinking under the protective coverture of a strong man.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 May 2022
The famous legal scholar William Blackstone had interpreted coverture rather strictly in the 1760s, and the American Revolution did nothing to change that.
—Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2022
That started to change by about the 18th century, when coverture laws—which counted wives as legal property of their husbands—grew more entrenched in Britain, and evolved to effectively forbid women from owning land at all.
—Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2021
In the nascent American Republic, where some humans could vote and most others were in coverture to their voting husbands or were the property of those men, the notion of majority representation was corrupted a priori.
—Shannon Pufahl, The New York Review of Books, 21 Apr. 2020
Coverture also meant that a man had largely unrestrained access to his wife’s body.
—Elizabeth Weingarten, The Atlantic, 15 June 2017
The answer partially lies in the practices of coverture, embedded in the old law of domestic relations that American colonists inherited from the British and didn’t change after the Revolution.
—Elizabeth Weingarten, The Atlantic, 15 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coverture
Noun
-
The strapless corset gown had a sheer illusion jacket embellished with pearls and was paired with a cathedral veil.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
5 Aug. 2025
-
For a few months each year when the veil of winter has faded, the road into the White Mountain Range is opened, allowing the curious and the adventurous a chance to explore this unique place.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The cloak represents the emotional intelligence required to discern when to engage and when to protect one's energy.—
Carla D. Thompson Payton,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Whereas Survivor and Big Brother are much more like cloak and dagger.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
31 July 2025
Noun
-
After spending the first part of the season distraught over potentially being married off to the Duke through a shroud financial deal negotiated by her parents, Gladys finally walked down the aisle.—
Stacy Lambe,
People.com,
11 Aug. 2025
-
These events are tougher to see in galaxies with dense dusty shrouds, however.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coverture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coverture. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share