veneer
noun /vəˈnɪə(r)/
  /vəˈnɪr/
- [countable, uncountable] a thin layer of wood or plastic that is stuck to the surface of cheaper wood with glue, especially on a piece of furniture
- pine, with a walnut veneer
 - The chest is solid oak, not veneer.
 
Extra Examples- Some of the frames are inlaid with veneers.
 - The chest is made of mahogany with a veneer of rosewood.
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- thin
 
- acquire
 - add
 - maintain
 - …
 
- hide something
 - mask something
 - crack
 - …
 
- behind a/the veneer
 - beneath a/the veneer
 - under a/the veneer
 - …
 
 - [singular] veneer (of something) (formal) an outer appearance of a particular quality that hides the true nature of somebody/something
- Her veneer of politeness began to crack.
 
Extra Examples- He concealed his darker side behind a veneer of respectability.
 - He managed to acquire a thin veneer of knowledge to mask his real ignorance.
 - The lyrics strip the veneer of respectability from the music
 - They have stripped the veneer of jingoism from the play, by showing war in its true horror.
 - They're brutal people behind their civilized veneer.
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- thin
 
- acquire
 - add
 - maintain
 - …
 
- hide something
 - mask something
 - crack
 - …
 
- behind a/the veneer
 - beneath a/the veneer
 - under a/the veneer
 - …
 
 
Word Originearly 18th cent. (earlier as fineer): from German furni(e)ren, from Old French fournir ‘furnish’.