A thin layer of material, often wood, applied to a substrate for decoration or to provide a protective outer surface. It also refers to an outward show or appearance that conceals a different reality.
He smiled, a polite veneer that hid his fear. The polished surface of the table, a thin layer of wood, looked perfect, but underneath it was cheap particleboard. His cheerful act felt just as fake.
The old man's smile was a thin veneer, a practiced kindness that never quite reached his weary eyes. He offered me a warm biscuit, the gesture a surface politeness, but I knew the struggle beneath the surface was far more real.
The antique music box had a beautiful, smooth veneer of cherry wood. It looked perfect, but beneath that shiny outward show, the delicate gears inside were warped and broken, unable to play a single note.
My uncle's fancy new desk looked great, a shiny wood veneer covering cheap cardboard. But when I leaned on it, the whole thing wobbled, revealing the flimsy truth beneath its nice outer show. He'd bought a lovely deception!
Barnaby polished his prize-winning pet rock until it gleamed. He'd applied a thin veneer of glitter glue, hoping it would fool the judges into thinking it was a rare, sparkly geode, not just a gray lump from the driveway.
He flashed a smile, a practiced veneer that didn't reach his eyes. Inside, a storm raged, but on the surface, everything was calm, a perfect imitation of peace hiding a bitter truth.
The carefully crafted smile was just a veneer. Beneath the polished surface of polite conversation, his true resentment simmered, a thick, dark stain hidden by the thinnest of outward shows.
He smoothed the worn, chipped edge of the workbench, the cheap laminate peeling back to reveal the particle board beneath. It was a thin veneer, meant to look like something more substantial, something durable, but it only highlighted how much better the real wood would have been.
His charming smile was a perfect veneer, a polished surface hiding a mountain of overdue bills and a secret love for polka music. The expensive mahogany desk, also a veneer, looked far more impressive than the cheap particleboard underneath, much like his carefully crafted public persona.
My pet rock, Bartholomew, sported a dazzling, hand-carved mahogany veneer to impress the garden gnomes. They admired his smooth surface, unaware that beneath the fancy wood was just a regular, albeit slightly lumpy, granite substrate, with a suspicious chip near his base.
He presented a polite veneer, a smooth facade that hid his true resentment. That thin layer of pleasantries masked a deep dissatisfaction, a stark contrast to the genuine warmth he projected.
The ornate cabinet, its surface a beautiful polished wood veneer, hid a secret. Inside, the meticulously crafted façade couldn't conceal the frantic scratching of the captive, the desperate sounds a stark contrast to the room's serene, outward show.
The ancient artifact's polished surface, a thin veneer of shimmering obsidian, promised immense power. Yet, beneath that alluring exterior, cracks began to appear, revealing not untold riches, but a hollow, dangerous emptiness.
His smug pronouncements about his impeccable taste were clearly just a thin veneer. Beneath the polished pronouncements and the expensive cologne, one suspected a deeply unoriginal individual, perhaps even one who enjoyed polka.
Barnaby's meticulous collection of antique doorknobs seemed to possess a flawless, polished veneer, each brass knob gleaming as if freshly buffed. However, upon closer inspection, one realized this elaborate facade, this outward show of pristine preservation, was merely a thin layer applied to conceal the truly terrifying reality: he actually just superglued bottle caps to old plumbing fixtures.
His affable demeanor was a mere veneer, a carefully constructed facade that masked a deep, unsettling avarice. Beneath the polished surface, a disquieting hollowness was evident, a stark contrast to his outwardly benevolent comportment.
The diplomat’s affable demeanor was a mere veneer, a polished façade over his simmering resentment. Beneath the surface of amiable pleasantries, the intricate machinations of his true agenda unfolded, unseen by those who mistook his charming presentation for genuine amiability.
Her curated online persona, a smooth, polished veneer, hid a profound gnawing anxiety. Each carefully selected image, every optimistic caption, was a deliberate artifice, a delicate overlay masking the churning disquietude beneath the surface of her digital existence, a stark contrast to the genuine turmoil she experienced in solitude.
The esteemed politician's pronouncements, cloaked in a polished veneer of sagacity, concealed a decidedly more ignominious reality. Beneath that smooth facade of erudition, one sensed a gaping chasm of vacuity, like a cheap plank attempting to masquerade as mahogany.
The aspiring alchemist, convinced his transmuted lead was actually gold, meticulously applied a thin veneer of shimmering pyrite to the base metal, hoping the dazzling outward show would conceal the utter lack of actual nobility, a precarious stratagem destined for swift, ignominious disrepute.
Advanced — Less frequent words that stretch an upper-level vocabulary.