veiled meaning
What's actually meant
A veiled meaning is one that's partially hidden or disguised rather than stated directly.
The phrase suggests something covered but still discernible beneath the surface—like a face behind a veil.
Writers use veiled meanings for diplomacy, plausible deniability, or literary effect: His compliment carried a veiled meaning that only she understood.
Compare with double meaning, subtext.
- hiddenKept out of sight
- hidden agendaUndisclosed true purpose
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- double entendrePhrase with hidden lewdness
reading between · cryptic · coded · dog whistle · implied · allusion · undertone · suggestive · insinuation · between the lines · oblique · covert · shrouded · smoke and mirrors · masked · obscured · euphemism · sotto voce
- literary devicesmetaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration
- allegoryAnimal Farm, Narnia, The Little Prince, religious allegory, political allegory
- innuendoinnuendo, sexual innuendo, double entendre, subtext, undertone
- subtextsubtext, innuendo, insinuation, connotation, undertone
- undertonesundertone, connotation, nuance, implication, subtext
- Sufi poetryRumi, masnavi, divine love, mystical poetry, fana
veiled meaningliteral meaning
Exact, non-figurative interpretation
plain speech · straight talk · plain language · direct speech · unvarnished truth
veiled meaningclear intention
veil, veiled, veils, veiling, unveil, unveiled, unveiling, unveils, mean