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
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Legend
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creation myths
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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:
Parton sang “I’m just a backwards Barbie / too much make-up, too much hair”, but her image was both a coat of armour and an astute disguise that helped get her noticed in show business.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
What makes this episode unusually clarifying is that nobody on the winning side seems to feel much need to disguise the motive.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
The great slope of Mulholland’s concrete gravity dam in the Hollywood Hills — a model for the one that failed — was covered with dirt to disguise its terrifying height.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
A similar technique would be used to disguise rare species themselves, shipping them with ordinary reptiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Mom watches him carefully for a while, her eyes half closed and the same partial smile stapled to her face as a disguise.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Doctor Who first launched in 1963, and follows the adventures of an eccentric Time Lord who travels in a spaceship larger on the inside, that disguises itself as a 1960s British police box.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 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
They’ve also added NordWhisper, a stealth protocol launched in early 2025 that disguises VPN traffic as regular web browsing.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
Instead he tried out one of Victor’s disguises in front of the mirror.
From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke
There are plenty of other ways that our culture has disguised unhealthy behaviors, as “Maddie’s Secret” so cunningly stresses.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
Tolomeo, the deposed king of Egypt, is hiding out on the island of Cyprus disguised as a shepherd.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Legitimate safeguards play an important role; protectionism disguised as regulation shouldn’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“We will not tolerate criminal activity disguised as a celebration,” the department said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
This one was not a request disguised as anything.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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
He acknowledged, though, that they “do a good job disguising their coverage.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2026
Peruvian police often use the tactics, disguising their agents in elaborate costumes on occasions such as Valentine's Day, Halloween and Christmas.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
"There's no disguising the fact that we do need more money to look after our canal network," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
There would be no way of disguising its meaning.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
