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
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Recent Examples of coverture
For centuries, the doctrine of coverture rendered married women the property of their husbands with no legal rights of their own.
—
Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
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
Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coverture
Noun
-
Her veil was embroidered with delicate florals, which mirrored the exquisite lace on her ballgown’s sleeves and bodice.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The tulle veil, sheer elbow gloves and Manolo Blahnik shoes Pidgeon wears while walking down the aisle are all authentic, too.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In the years after the monarchy was overthrown, the government required women to wear dark, long, baggy cloaks with socks and sensible shoes.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Got to walk around the highlands in a red cloak.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Many of its songs crystallize around samples of choirs singing, their soft syllables dissolving beneath heavy shrouds of reverb.—
Sasha Geffen,
Pitchfork,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Mamdani emerged from this shroud of mystery triumphant, posting a photograph on X of himself, firmly straight-faced, standing alongside the grinning President.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coverture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coverture. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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