disguise
Americanverb (used with object)
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disguises,
present (3rd person singular)
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disguised,
past participle, past
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disguising
present participle
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to change the appearance or guise of so as to conceal identity or mislead, as by means of deceptive garb.
The king was disguised as a peasant.
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to conceal or cover up the truth or actual character of by a counterfeit form or appearance; misrepresent.
to disguise one's intentions.
noun
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disguises
plural
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that which disguises; something that serves or is intended for concealment of identity, character, or quality; a deceptive covering, condition, manner, etc..
Noble words can be the disguise of base intentions.
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the makeup, mask, costume, or overall changed appearance of an entertainer.
a clown's disguise.
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the act of disguising.
to speak without disguise.
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the state of being disguised; masquerade.
The gods appeared in disguise.
verb
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to modify the appearance or manner in order to conceal the identity of (oneself, someone, or something)
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(tr) to misrepresent in order to obscure the actual nature or meaning
to disguise the facts
noun
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a mask, costume, or manner that disguises
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the act of disguising or the state of being disguised
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disguisednessnoun
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disguisementnoun
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disguisernoun
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predisguisenoun
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disguisableadjective
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disguisedadjective
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nondisguisedadjective
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undisguisableadjective
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undisguisedadjective
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well-disguisedadjective
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disguisedlyadverb
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undisguisedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disguisesimple
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disguisessimple
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have disguisedperfect
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has disguisedperfect
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am disguisingprogressive
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are disguisingprogressive
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is disguisingprogressive
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have been disguisingperfect progressive
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has been disguisingperfect progressive
Past
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disguisedsimple
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had disguisedperfect
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was disguisingprogressive
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were disguisingprogressive
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had been disguisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disguise
1275–1325; Middle English disg ( u ) isen < Anglo-French, Old French de ( s ) guiser, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + -guiser, derivative of guise guise
Explanation
A disguise is something you put on so no one recognizes you. It also can be used as a verb. You can disguise yourself with a wig and mustache; that's a great disguise. Disguise can be used anytime you're talking about concealing or hiding something. Most of the time we think of a disguise as something you wear, but you can also disguise your feelings. Criminals might disguise their intentions. You can also use the word to describe something that seems to be one thing, but turns out to be another. You missed the plane, but then the plane crashed. That's a blessing in disguise.
Vocabulary lists containing disguise
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Legend
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kenny is relishing the role, barely able to disguise his pleasure as Miranda Hart confided to him over breakfast that "you're my main faithful".
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Working at times in disguise, Peter Ortiz led small groups of agents on high-risk missions against Nazi forces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The state accused Pike of filing “a second and successive habeas petition in disguise that presses a claim she already unsuccessfully presented.”
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
To prove they’re “amazing musicians,” Woody and Matthew disguise themselves to play a coffeehouse gig.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
But, I reminded myself, the Sons of Liberty hadn’t chosen this disguise to be accurate, or even to be political; they’d chosen this disguise to identify themselves as being American—not British.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
She disguises herself with a mask and a L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Researchers have identified a remarkable new spider species in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest that disguises itself as a parasitic fungus.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
Feeling angrily outcast from her community, Mary tried to rise from her station by assuming a variety of disguises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Love is overwhelming but can still be one-sided, an imbalance that love’s all-consuming nature disguises.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
Peeta genuinely seems to enjoy this station, swirling a combination of mud and clay and berry juices around on his pale skin, weaving disguises from vines and leaves.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
In 1990, two men disguised as police officers spent 81 minutes crisscrossing Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to cut out and carry off masterpieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
From time to time the disguised funding scheme would be tweaked to "assist with continued concealment" and "reduce the likelihood of difficult questions being asked".
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
A female cyclist from Afghanistan who previously disguised herself as a man when chasing a career in the sport has won a silver medal at the Asian Games.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Talarico, she said, is “evil disguised as goodness.”
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
“So she’ll be doing what you said he did, actual magic disguised as stage illusions. Did she do that at the audition?”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
On the contrary, he has a long public record of being nasty to her in public, often — though not always — disguising his cruelty as “jokes.”
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
Anthropic found that the model engaged in a behavior called “alignment faking” — deliberately disguising its true reasoning and dangerous capabilities to avoid being restricted by people.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 18, 2026
Offering techniques including disguising users' data as different types of internet traffic, Psiphon "is able to evade detection more successfully", data and insights director Keith McManamen told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
Carnival plays out in the movie’s background, adding life and music as well as disguising crimes perpetrated by those in power.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were now at 33:1, Goldman Sachs looked conservative at 25:1, but then Goldman had a gift for disguising how leveraged it actually was.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
