veil
noun
verb
veɪl noun
1 a thin piece of material that women wear to cover their faces at formal occasions or for religious reasons 面纱
She lifted her veil with both hands.
她用双手揭开面纱。
a bridal veil
新娘的面纱
2
the veil
the system in Islamic countries in which women must cover their hair and faces in public 〔伊斯兰教国家的妇女在公共场所〕戴面纱的习俗
3
draw a veil over sth
to avoid talking about something that happened in the past because it is unpleasant or embarrassing [正式] 把某事掩盖起来; 避而不谈某事〔指不愉快或令人难堪的事〕 formal
I think it best to draw a veil over the whole incident.
我认为这整件事最好是避而不谈。
4
veil of secrecy/deceit/silence etc
something that hides the truth about a situation [正式] 神秘/虚假/沉默等的面纱 formal
Watson deserves credit for lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding Brenda’s death.
揭开布伦达之死的神秘面纱是华生的功劳。
His pornography was covered by a veil of respectability.
他的色情作品披着体面的面纱。
5
veil of mist/cloud/smoke etc
a thin layer of mist, cloud etc that makes it difficult to see clearly 一层薄雾/云/烟雾等
The moon was hidden behind a veil of clouds.
月亮躲在薄薄的云层后面。
6
take the veil
to become a NUN [过时] 当修女 old-fashioned
verb
7
be veiled in mystery/secrecy etc
if something is veiled in mystery etc, people do not know the truth about it so it seems strange or mysterious [正式] 罩着神秘的面纱 formal
The details of the evacuation are veiled in secrecy.
撤离的细节秘而不宣。
8 to cover something with a veil 以面纱掩盖
A black kerchief modestly veiled her hair.
一条黑色的头巾庄重地裹住她的头发。
9 to partly hide something so that it cannot be seen clearly [文] 遮掩 literary
A fine rain was beginning to veil the hills.
蒙蒙的细雨渐渐笼罩了群山。