veneer theory

noun

The idea that morality is simply a cultural manner that hides man's innate amorality.

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Meanings

nounveneer theory (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesThe idea that morality is simply a cultural manner that hides man's innate amorality.

    His [Maestripieri's] take-home message - that brute power politics is the root of, and the route to, success - looks like corroboration of 'veneer theory'

    2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 154
Cite this entry
APA

veneer theory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/veneer%20theory

MLA

“veneer theory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/veneer%20theory. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “veneer theory,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/veneer%20theory.

Source: veneer theory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.