—veil /veɪl/
noun (MATERIAL)
C1 [C] a piece of thin material worn by women to cover the face or head:
» After the ceremony, the bride lifted up her veil to kiss her husband.» The women wore black veils which covered all but their eyes.Thesaurus+: ↑Things worn to cover the head, face or necktake the veilF0 A Christian woman who takes the veil becomes a nun.
Thesaurus+: ↑Religious practicesThesaurus+: ↑Monks and nunstake/adopt the veilF0 A Muslim woman who takes or adopts the veil decides to wear traditional Muslim clothing.
Thesaurus+: ↑IslamThesaurus+: ↑Religious practices• • •
Extra Examples:» The veil fell almost to her waist.» The bride wore a veil with a wreath of silk flowers.» The women there all wear veils.noun (UNCLEAR)
F0 [S] LITERARY a thin covering of something, which you can see through, but not very clearly:
» The view over the lake was obscured by a veil of mist that hung in the air.Thesaurus+: ↑Coverings and layersC2 [S] LITERARY something that prevents you from knowing what is happening:
» The government has been urged to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding the minister's unexpected resignation.Thesaurus+: ↑Hiding and disguisingdraw a veil over sth LITERARYF0 to not talk any more about a subject because it could cause trouble or embarrassment:
» I think we should draw a veil over everything that happened at the party, don't you?Thesaurus+: ↑Digressing and being indirect or evasive , ↑Moving in order to avoid contact , ↑Not saying muchverb [T often passive] (MATERIAL) ↑Verb Endings for veil
► F0 to cover something, especially the face or body, with a veil: » In some societies, women are expected to be veiled when they go out in public.Thesaurus+: ↑Covering and adding layersverb [T] (HIDE) ↑Verb Endings for veil
► F0 to hide or cover something so that you cannot see it clearly: » Thick fog veiled the city.Thesaurus+: ↑Hiding and disguising