How to Use fig leaf in a Sentence

fig leaf

noun
  • Opponents claim that the humanitarian goals of the project are just a fig leaf, and that its real purpose is to make money.
  • The ice cream is served with fig leaf oil and whipped blood orange.
    — Amanda Shapiro, Bon Appetit, 28 Feb. 2018
  • But the fig leaf of the peace process and the two-state solution is drying up.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2023
  • It was swathed in a warm pear green and a cheerful fig leaf plant sat in the corner.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 20 Sep. 2023
  • But the use of the pro-life cause as a fig leaf is especially galling to me.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 8 Dec. 2017
  • But that fig leaf is going to be pretty hard to shake loose.
    — Fox News, 19 May 2018
  • Aware of being stark naked, Darren moved his hands to form a fig leaf.
    — Hermione Hoby, Harper's Magazine, 22 June 2021
  • In the end, the actions taken by Facebook and Twitter are a fig leaf.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 16 Oct. 2020
  • The reception room was swathed in a warm pear green and a cheerful fig leaf plant sat in the corner.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 12 July 2022
  • Critics warn that the Greens risk becoming a fig leaf for Mr. Kurz’s hard right agenda.
    — Katrin Bennhold, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2020
  • The scent opens with fig leaf and fig fruit, followed by coconut mixed with sumptuous green notes.
    — Grooming Playbook, The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Dec. 2022
  • My meal concludes with a summery fig leaf ice cream churned from Nature’s Fynd cream cheese.
    — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 26 Jan. 2023
  • The gesture felt defensive, as a virtuous fig leaf on the fair’s naked avarice.
    — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 17 May 2021
  • And while the Armory intends to broadcast the results, some day, in a yet-to-be-determined way, the filming was a bit of a fig leaf.
    — Brian Seibert, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2020
  • Desert was a white chocolate and yuzu sorbet with fig leaf and hibiscus.
    — Everett Potter, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2023
  • Wrap each portion of fish individually in a fig leaf, folding the edges of the leaf over the fish.
    — Deb Wandell, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Oct. 2021
  • Don't be surprised to see a similar fig leaf get floated.
    — Dan Primack, Axios, 7 Feb. 2025
  • But to the theory’s adherents, the lock-step maneuvers by the Fed and the government were not the arrival of a far-out idea but the removal of a fig leaf.
    — Matt Phillips, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2020
  • Both men and women wear a green apron embroidered with a fig leaf pattern, to represent Adam and Eve.
    — Meredith Blakestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2022
  • While this may be true, this excuse was more of a fig leaf to cover up the Army’s troubles in fielding a scout/attack helicopter.
    — Mike Hirschberg, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
  • The court’s critics on the left have often argued that this is a mere fig leaf for the conservatives’ preferred outcome.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 29 June 2022
  • This recipe originally called for enveloping the fish in fig leaves.
    — Ignacio Mattos, Bon Appetit, 23 Apr. 2018
  • This recipe originally called for enveloping the fish in fig leaves.
    — Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit, 24 Apr. 2018
  • This recipe originally called for enveloping the fish in fig leaves.
    — Rochelle Bilow, Bon Appetit, 4 May 2018
  • This recipe originally called for enveloping the fish in fig leaves.
    — Rochelle Bilow, Bon Appetit, 4 May 2018
  • This recipe originally called for enveloping the fish in fig leaves.
    — Rochelle Bilow, Bon Appetit, 4 May 2018
  • Plus: fig leaf ice cream, a hotel in the hills of Majorca and more from T’s cultural compendium.
    — New York Times, 1 May 2023
  • Give or take a fig leaf or two, the likely successor to the topless craze — already four years old — adds up to complete nudity.
    — Johnny Miller, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Feb. 2018
  • Barring stop-work orders to extend programs into the future destroys the fig leaf of just ensuring that NGOs don’t get stiffed.
    — The Editors, National Review, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Meanwhile, another lush option is a fig leaf folded into the Ledena cuff.
    — Lily Templeton, WWD, 13 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fig leaf.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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