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noun ADJ. thin | false | civilized VERB + VENEER acquire | strip (off), strip sb/sth of They have stripped the veneer of jingoism from the play, by showing war in its true horror. VENEER + VERB disguise sth, hide sth, mask sth He managed to acquire a thin veneer of knowledge to mask his real ignorance. | crack For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack. PREP. behind/below/beneath/under a/the ~ They're brutal people behind their civilized veneer. | ~ of
Oxford Collocations Dictionary