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Which Russian ruler traveled incognito to study shipbuilding?

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incognito

American  

[in-kog-nee-toh, in-kog-ni-toh] / ˌɪn kɒgˈni toʊ, ɪnˈkɒg nɪˌtoʊ /

adjective

1. 

   having one's identity concealed, as under an assumed name, especially to avoid notice or formal attentions.

   Synonyms:

   unidentified, undisclosed

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adverb

1. with the real identity concealed.

   to travel incognito.

noun

• incognitos
  plural

1. a person who is incognito.

2. the state of being incognito.

3. the disguise or character assumed by an incognito.

incognito British  

/ ɪnˈkɒɡnɪtəʊ, ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtəʊ /

adverb

1. under an assumed name or appearance; in disguise

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noun

1. a person who is incognito

2. the assumed name or disguise of such a person

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• incognitos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of incognito

First recorded in 1630–40; from Italian, from Latin incognitus “unknown,” from in- in- ³ + cognitus “known” (past participle of cognōscere “to get to know”; see cognition)

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Explanation

When you want to do something and not be recognized, go incognito — hiding your true identity. It is funny that the words, recognize and incognito, are both related to the Latin verb, cognoscere, "to get to know" because when you do something incognito, you do not want to be recognized. Celebrities often try to go out or travel incognito so that they may have some privacy, whereas an average person might want to remain incognito in order to observe something they might not otherwise be able to see (like a celebrity).

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incognito incognitos

As Merryl Goldberg relates in her account of the adventure, “Notes of Deception,” written with the intelligence historian Vince Houghton, she and her friends were traveling incognito.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Meanwhile, Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland tucked his signature blond hair beneath a baseball cap to go incognito and visited Katz’s Deli in Manhattan for a pastrami sandwich.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Some ships have also transited Hormuz undetected: There have been reports that some ships have turned off their GPS-like signals and transited incognito, either for safety or because they are part of so-called shadow fleets.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

WhatsApp has introduced private chats with its AI chatbot which not even the tech company will be able to read in a new "incognito" mode.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

I hate saying corny things like "traveling incognito."

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

Around this time, chef Melfi spotted us — we were no longer incognitos.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 1, 2015

It was a republic of incognitos: no one knew who anyone else was, and only the more ill-mannered and uneasy even desired to know.

From Varied Types by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

But Jove himself, as everybody knows, was much addicted to incognitos, and so was his terrene representative, the Emperor of Austria.

From Joseph II. and His Court by L. (Luise) Mühlbach

Sooner or later the fellow would gather that he had been befooled, but, provided that we preserved our incognitos, that did not matter.

From Berry And Co. by Dornford Yates

But all is now lost; I know not who he was; and this estimable author must needs share the oblivious fate of all literary incognitos.

From Redburn. His First Voyage by Herman Melville

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