- a veil or the fabric used for veils
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
veil•ing
(vā′ling),USA pronunciation n.
- an act of covering with or as if with a veil.
- Clothinga veil.
- Textilesa thin net for veils.
- 1350–1400; Middle English; see veil, -ing1
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
veiling /ˈveɪlɪŋ/ n
veil /veɪl/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Clothinga piece of opaque, transparent, or mesh material worn over the face to hide or protect, to enhance the appearance, or to be part of an outfit or costume:the bride's veil.
- something that covers, hides, screens, or conceals:a veil of secrecy.
- Idioms take the veil, to become a nun.
veil (vāl),USA pronunciation
n.
v.t.
v.i.
veil′less, adj.
veil′like′, adj.
- Clothinga piece of opaque or transparent material worn over the face for concealment, for protection from the elements, or to enhance the appearance.
- Clothinga piece of material worn so as to fall over the head and shoulders on each side of the face, forming a part of the headdress of a nun.
- the life of a nun, esp. a cloistered life.
- something that covers, separates, screens, or conceals:a veil of smoke; the veil of death.
- a mask, disguise, or pretense:to find fault under a veil of humor.
- Anatomy, Botany, Zoology[Bot., Anat., Zool.]a velum.
- Fungi[Mycol.]a membrane that covers the immature mushroom of many fungi and breaks apart as the mushroom expands, leaving distinctive remnants on the cap, stalk, or stalk base.
- [Scot. and North Eng.]a caul.
- take the veil, to become a nun.
v.t.
- to cover or conceal with or as with a veil:She veiled her face in black. A heavy fog veiled the shoreline.
- to hide the real nature of;
mask;
disguise:to veil one's intentions.
v.i.
- to don or wear a veil:In certain Islamic countries women must veil.
- Anglo-French veiler, derivative of veile
- Latin vēla, neuter plural (taken in Vulgar Latin as feminine singular) of vēlum covering; (verb, verbal) Middle English veilen
- Anglo-French
- (noun, nominal) Middle English veile 1175–1225
veil′like′, adj.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
veil /veɪl/ n
- a piece of more or less transparent material, usually attached to a hat or headdress, used to conceal or protect a woman's face and head
- part of a nun's headdress falling round the face onto the shoulders
- something that covers, conceals, or separates; mask: a veil of reticence
- the veil ⇒ the life of a nun in a religious order and the obligations entailed by it
- take the veil ⇒ to become a nun
- Also called: velum a membranous structure, esp the thin layer of cells connecting the edge of a young mushroom cap with the stipe
- another word for caul
- (transitive) to cover, conceal, or separate with or as if with a veil
- (intransitive) to wear or put on a veil
'veiling' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):