veil
gb/vˈeɪl/ us/vˈeɪl/
A2
English
~ 3200
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
entity
1
Thin cloth covering face or head
A thin piece of cloth that covers the face or head.
Usage pattern:
[someone] wears a veil
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'veil' with 'vale' (a valley), which is unrelated.
Synonyms
headscarf (Covers the head but not usually the face; broader category.)
Antonyms
bareheaded (Without any covering on the head.)
Collocations
wear a veil
|lift a veil
|bridal veil
|black veil
Themes
clothing
|culture
|ceremony
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The bride wore a white veil that covered her face.
- In some cultures, women wear a veil in public.
- She lifted her veil to speak to him.
Learner examples
- The woman wears a veil.
- The bride has a long veil.
- She takes off her veil.
Verb
B1
action
2
Cover with thin layer or cloth
To cover something with a thin cloth or layer so it cannot be seen clearly.
Usage pattern:
to veil [something]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'veil' as a verb with 'vale', which is not a verb and means 'valley'.
Synonyms
cover (General term for putting something over something else.)
Antonyms
uncover (To remove a covering from something.)
Collocations
veil the face
|veil the truth
|mountains veiled in mist
Themes
appearance
|concealment
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Mist veiled the mountains in the distance.
- She veiled her face with a scarf.
- The truth was veiled by false reports.
Learner examples
- Clouds veil the sun.
- She veils her head.
- Fog veils the town.
Noun
B2
entity
3
Something that hides or obscures
Something that hides or makes it hard to see or know the truth.
Common mistake:
Learners may take figurative uses literally and imagine an actual cloth instead of an abstract barrier.
Synonyms
covering (General term; does not imply concealment as strongly.)
Antonyms
openness (Quality of being open and not hidden.)
Collocations
veil of secrecy
|veil of mystery
|draw a veil over
Themes
metaphor
|concealment
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- A veil of secrecy surrounded the negotiations.
- Her smile was a thin veil for her anger.
- The landscape was hidden behind a veil of fog.
Learner examples
- A veil of fog hides the city.
- There is a veil of mystery around him.
- They work under a veil of secrecy.
Grammar
Dictionary form
veil
IPA
GB/vˈeɪl/
US/vˈeɪl/
Syllables & stress
veil (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (veil)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: veil
- Plural: veils
Verb
- Base: veil
- 3rd Person Singular: veils
- Present Participle: veiling
- Past: veiled
Word family
Forms
veils
noun
veiling
verb
veiled
verb
Related words
unveil
verb B2
unveiling
noun
Negative and opposite forms
unveiled
adjective
Expressions
draw a veil over
1/dɹˈɔ ə vˈeɪl ˈoʊvɚ/
idiom
Avoid discussing something unpleasant
To choose not to talk about something because it is unpleasant or embarrassing.
Examples
- I think we should draw a veil over what happened last night.
- He drew a veil over his past mistakes.
lift the veil
1/lˈɪft ðə vˈeɪl/
idiom
Reveal something hidden or secret
To make something known that was hidden before.
Examples
- The investigation lifted the veil on government corruption.
- Her memoir lifts the veil on life in the palace.
veil of secrecy
1/vˈeɪl əv sˈikɹəsi/
idiom
Complete secrecy around something
A situation where information is kept completely secret.
Examples
- The project was carried out under a veil of secrecy.
- Negotiations continued behind a veil of secrecy.
veil of secrecy
2/vˈeɪl əv sˈikɹəsi/
idiom
layer that hides full facts
A way of hiding the truth so that people cannot see or understand everything that is happening.
Examples
- The veil of secrecy surrounding the trial was finally lifted.
- Journalists tried to break through the veil of secrecy around the talks.
- A thick veil of secrecy still covers the organization’s finances.