What does veil mean

Crossword clues for veil

veil

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

veil

I.noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a veil of cloud (=a thin layer)

▪ A thin veil of cloud hid the moon.

a veil/curtain of mist (=an amount of mist that prevents you seeing something clearly)

▪ We looked up, through the veil of mist, at the waterfall.

a veiled threat (=one that is not made directly)

▪ The emails contained thinly veiled threats of harm.

be shrouded/veiled in mystery (=be unable to be explained)

▪ The origins of this tradition remain shrouded in mystery.

veil of secrecy

▪ the veil of secrecy that covered the talks

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

black

▪ She watches me through a black veil that hangs from a black hat.

▪ One wears a burqa, the black veil, the other a colourful scarf.

▪ They came up the steps with a Coptic woman in a long black gown and veil.

▪ The glint of diamanté or pearl-embroidered dresses could be seen under black veils.

▪ I dressed and then went to my suitcase, searching for an old, black veil.

▪ As she stooped lower her breath, caught in all the black veils, smelled terrible.

▪ The heat of the sun seemed absorbed into her black veil which was ragged and dusty.

▪ They moved slowly, their black veils floating around them.

white

▪ Dundee began to disappear behind a white veil while Chick drank his way steadily down the half-bottle.

▪ The buildings were only specters glimpsed through the thick white veils the air had become.

▪ Mary was carrying a long white veil and dress over her arm.

▪ She put on a red petticoat first, then a black dress, and a white veil over the dress.

▪ She was dressed in a dark blue gown, the white veil hiding her beautiful chestnut hair.

▪ He took off her white veil, and then he took off her black dress, and put it on the floor.

▪ Her hair had been braided and was concealed under a heart-shaped silver head-dress with a transparent white veil.

▪ Her hair, which was long and fair, was almost entirely covered by her white veil.

■ VERB

draw

▪ The food is dumpling-based, substantial, and it would be kinder to draw a veil over the indigenous wine lake.

▪ Beyond the budding boughs I could see the edge of its shadow drawing its veil aside.

▪ His brain drew a veil over the sickening consequences.

lift

▪ She had lifted back the veil and looked stunningly beautiful.

▪ Perhaps he will soon lift the veils on the Westland Saga and the sinking of the Belgrano.

wear

▪ One day an older woman who wore the veil cursed her and accused her of being loose.

▪ At most weddings the bride wears a veil but at this wedding the bride was wearing a beautiful top hat.

▪ Like Matilda, she had worn the veil, probably for several years; but she too had never taken religious vows.

▪ She had made a gesture in the direction of decency by wearing a veil, behind which she sat disdainfully.

▪ The women don't wear veils, though high-class Berber women are often secluded.

▪ He recognized that, although she had worn the veil for several years, she had never made her monastic profession.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

draw a veil over sth

▪ His brain drew a veil over the sickening consequences.

▪ The food is dumpling-based, substantial, and it would be kinder to draw a veil over the indigenous wine lake.

thinly disguised/veiled

▪ Almost all his climbs have a certain something: a thinly disguised air of intimidation often allied to a raw brutality.

▪ Both, however, were under external threat from barbarians more or less thinly disguised.

▪ Dole passed up two thinly veiled invitations by moderator Jim Lehrer to address so-called character issues.

▪ Hardly compatible with discretion, that I should ride to the Palace in so thinly disguised a vehicle.

▪ I should hate to give the impression that my love for you is but thinly disguised lust.

▪ Mostly they turned out to be thinly disguised candidate ads, a violation of the spirit of the law at best.

▪ Mrs Thatcher's public speeches contained thinly veiled warning messages to colleagues who doubted the strategy.

▪ She was only thinly veiled, and Rostov could see that although she was beautiful, she was old.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

▪ As the road climbed upward, gray-white cloud veils drifted among the dales, chiffon scarves of some giant Isadora Duncan.

▪ But through the veil of darkness I got the sense that this would be a special trip.

▪ One day an older woman who wore the veil cursed her and accused her of being loose.

▪ Shaped like straw mushrooms, they are completely clear except for a gossamer veil which makes up their body.

▪ The client has thrown a veil of secrecy over the development, with contractors reluctant to discuss the project.

▪ The snow had come again, its veil dropping between Gentle and Pie.

▪ The white pony comes complete with veil, wedding cake, wedding ring, comb and ribbon, for perfect grooming!

▪ What is behind a hijab, the veil that means a barrier?

II.verb