Veneer

/vəˈnɪə(ɹ)/ · noun

Meaning

A thin decorative covering of fine material (usually wood) applied to coarser wood or other material..

Definitions by Sense

1. A thin decorative covering of fine material (usually wood) applied to coarser wood or other material.
2. An attractive appearance that covers or disguises one's true nature or feelings, the veneer of culture.
3. (transitive, woodworking) To apply veneer to.
4. (transitive, figurative) To disguise with apparent goodness.

Example Sentences

Compartment and corridor partitions are of blockboard, with appropriate decorative veneers to suit the varied interior decoration.

A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,[…].

“Yalda,” Dabashi says, “has managed to survive the centuries because it has been gently recodified with a Muslim veneer.”

to veneer a piece of furniture with mahogany

The stateroom walls are veneered with finely figured English chestnut with the skirting and mouldings in English walnut.

[O]ne / Discuss'd his tutor, rough to common men / But honeying at the whisper of a lord; / And one the Master, as a rogue in grain / Veneer'd with sanctimonious theory.

The currently advocated Family Protection Act, which thinly veneers its discriminatory attitudes about strict social conformity and the disallowance of individual choice with a stated concern for today's social fabric.

Synonyms for veneer

Antonyms for veneer

Related Words

Word Forms

• veneers
• veneering
• veneered

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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