What does "velvet" mean?
A closely woven fabric (originally of silk, now also of cotton or man-made fibres) with a thick short pile on one side.
Velvet
/ˈvɛlvɪt/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A closely woven fabric (originally of silk, now also of cotton or man-made fibres) with a thick short pile on one side.
- Grammar: velvet is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: affluence, alabaster, appearance, bed of roses.
- Useful contrasts: aggress, bare, coarse.
- Usage evidence: Little babies' cheeks feel like velvet.
How to use "velvet"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "velvet" 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 "velvet" 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 "velvet" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "velvet" 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 "velvet" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang 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 "affluence" 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 "velvet", 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 A closely woven fabric (originally of silk, now also of cotton or man-made fibres) with a thick short pile on one side. countable, uncountable
"For the first time since her husband's death, she had thrown off her weeds, and put on attire more suited to the occasion. She was richly, yet plainly dressed, in a purple velvet, with a hood of white point lace. Even her silent handmaids were surprised out of their ordinary propriety by her appearance."
- 2 a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back wordnet
- 3 Very fine fur, including the skin and fur on a deer's antlers. countable, uncountable
"His [a hart's] head when it commeth firſt out, hath a ruſſet pyll vpon it, the which is called Veluet, […]"
- 4 A female chinchilla; a sow. countable, rare
- 5 The drug dextromethorphan. slang, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Money acquired by gambling. slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To cover with velvet or with a covering of a similar texture.
"Penmachno mill is situate where a stream has furrowed a deep channel, and velveted the rocks with the richest mosses […]."
- 2 To coat raw meat in starch, then in oil, preparatory to frying.
"Blanching cut and specially marinated chicken in oil or water prior to stir-frying is a technique common to Chinese restaurant kitchens. The 20-second bath tenderizes the chicken remarkably, hence the process has been dubbed "velveting" in English. Velveted chicken is half-cooked, will not stick to the pan, and needs almost no oil when stir-fried."
- 3 To remove the velvet from a deer's antlers.
"2014, "Top genetic selection produces biggest antlers," NZFarmer.co.nz, 12 July, 2014, http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/10255646/Top-genetic-selection-produces-biggest-antlers Reacting to painkillers when velveted, Sovereign II was too sick to grow antlers last year, but has since recovered."
- 4 To soften; to mitigate. figuratively, transitive
"She spoke very gently, full of compassion for the boy, velveting her reproach for me."
- 5 to retract.
Adjective
- 1 Made of velvet.
- 2 Soft and delicate, like velvet; velvety.
"The fawn then rose up, and creeping gently about the room, touched the cheeks or hands of the slumbering inmates with its velvet tongue, but so softly that none were awakened."
- 3 Peaceful; carried out without violence; especially as pertaining to the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia.
"What at the time of the initial agreement of Yeltsin, Shushkevich and Kravchuk to join together in a new 'Commonwealth of Independent States' had seemed like a reconstitution of the lands of ancient Rus, quickly turned out to be, in the words of the leading Russian-Ukrainian reformer Aleksandr Tsipko, merely a 'velvet disintegration'."
Adjective
- 1 resembling velvet in having a smooth soft surface wordnet
- 2 smooth and soft to sight or hearing or touch or taste wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Little babies' cheeks feel like velvet."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "velvet"?
Common synonyms include: affluence, alabaster, appearance, bed of roses, billiard table, blubber.
How do you use "velvet" in a sentence?
Little babies' cheeks feel like velvet.
How do you pronounce "velvet"?
Pronounced /ˈvɛlvɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English velvet, velwet, veluet, from Old Occitan veluet, from Vulgar Latin *villutittus, diminutive of villūtus, from Latin villus (“shaggy hair, tuft of hair”). Cognate with French velours.