What does "veil" mean?
Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.
Veil
/veɪl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.
- Grammar: veil is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: head covering, adumbrate, adumbrates, alibi.
- Useful contrasts: clarity, disclose, exposure.
- Usage evidence: This bride is covering her face with a veil.
How to use "veil"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "veil" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "veil" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "veil" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "veil" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "veil" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "head covering" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "veil", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.
"The veil of the temple was rent in twain."
- 2 a garment that covers the head and face wordnet
- 3 Anything that partially obscures a clear view. figuratively
"Above the smoky veil over the town rose Akerhus fort, with its towers standing out in sharp relief against the mirror of the fjord, beyond where the Nœs point loomed as a black shadow."
- 4 a vestment worn by a priest at High Mass in the Roman Catholic Church; a silk shawl wordnet
- 5 A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
"[I will] pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 the inner membrane of embryos in higher vertebrates (especially when covering the head at birth) wordnet
- 7 A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head)
"a nun's veil"
- 8 a membranous covering attached to the immature fruiting body of certain mushrooms wordnet
- 9 The calyptra of mosses.
- 10 velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa).
- 11 A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom.
- 12 A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum.
"The genus Amanita has both a volva and a veil; the spores are white, and the stem is easily separable from the cap."
- 13 An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation.
- 14 That which separates the living and the spirit world. figuratively
""I have heard most furious bigots talking through the veil." "So have I, for that matter," said Malone, "and in this very room.""
Verb
- 1 To dress in, or decorate with, a veil. transitive
"I'm under surface Towers veiled in silk I guess I'm not welcome In this house they built"
- 2 make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing wordnet
- 3 To conceal as with a veil. transitive
"The forest fire was veiled by smoke, but I could hear it clearly."
- 4 to obscure, or conceal with or as if with a veil wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"This bride is covering her face with a veil."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "veil"?
Common synonyms include: head covering, adumbrate, adumbrates, alibi, apology, apply.
How do you use "veil" in a sentence?
This bride is covering her face with a veil.
How do you pronounce "veil"?
Pronounced /veɪl/.
Etymology
From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare German Schleier). Doublet of velum and voile.