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• guise
  guise

  noun

  general external appearance; aspect; semblance.
• Guise
  Guise

  noun

  François de Lorraine 2nd Duc de, 1519–63, French general and statesman.

guise

¹ American  

[gahyz] / gaɪz /

noun

1. general external appearance; aspect; semblance.

   an old principle in a new guise.

   Synonyms:

   shape, form

2. assumed appearance or mere semblance.

   under the guise of friendship.

3. style of dress.

   in the guise of a shepherd.

4. Archaic. manner; mode.

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verb (used with object)

• guises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• guised,
  past participle,  past
• guising
  present participle

1. to dress; attire.

   children guised as cowboys.

verb (used without object)

• guises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• guised,
  past participle,  past
• guising
  present participle

1. Scot. and North England. to appear or go in disguise.

Guise ² American  

[geez] / giz /

noun

1. François de Lorraine 2nd Duc de, 1519–63, French general and statesman.

2. his son Henri I de Lorraine Duc de, 1550–88, French general and leader of opposition to the Huguenots.

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guise British  

/ ɡaɪz /

noun

1. semblance or pretence

   under the guise of friendship

2. external appearance in general

3. archaic manner or style of dress

4. obsolete customary behaviour or manner

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verb

1. dialect to disguise or be disguised in fancy dress

2. archaic (tr) to dress or dress up

Synonym Usage

See appearance.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• guising
  present
• guised
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• guise
  simple
• guises
  simple
• have guised
  perfect
• has guised
  perfect
• am guising
  progressive
• are guising
  progressive
• is guising
  progressive
• have been guising
  perfect progressive
• has been guising
  perfect progressive

Past

• guised
  simple
• had guised
  perfect
• was guising
  progressive
• were guising
  progressive
• had been guising
  perfect progressive

Future

• will guise
  simple
• will have guised
  perfect
• will be guising
  progressive
• will have been guising
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of guise

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English g ( u ) ise < Old French < Germanic; see wise ²: (v.) Middle English gisen, derivative of the noun

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Explanation

The noun guise refers to an outward appearance that conceals the true nature of someone or something. Your classmate might chat with you under the guise of friendship, but you know she's really just looking for juicy gossip. No doubt you’ve noticed the similarity between guise and disguise. Both involve the art of deception: it’s the methods that differ. Guise is about trying on new attitudes and mannerisms, such as speaking and acting in the guise of a native in a place where you are actually a tourist. Disguise involves hiding your real identity, disappearing in the new role.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guise Guise guises guised guising

"Those engaging in unlawful activities and conspiracies under the guise of labour movements will be tackled with an iron hand," he said after meeting industry leaders on Monday.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Tuchel seems to think England may have an option within their ranks already in the guise of fellow superstar Jude Bellingham.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

At the same time, schools wouldn’t be allowed to use booster clubs to funnel money to athletes under the guise of paying them for “name, image and likeness” rights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

“We must remember them. It is their homelands, their well-being and their futures that are also at stake under the guise of ensuring compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Big Brother is the guise in which the Party chooses to exhibit itself to the world.

From "1984" by George Orwell

“He used bed slats and table legs. He scraped glue from the bottom of bits of furniture around the camp,” said Kimberly Guise, a senior curator at the museum.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2023

Anastasia Guise, a resident of Billen Cliffs Village - a rural community in northern New South Wales state some 800 km distant from Sydney - has tapped Jagun for help.

From Reuters ● Sep. 12, 2023

They include Guise, a luminous fabric made partly from chenille yarns, and Forest, an intensely colorful wall covering based on his installation “Architectural Forest.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2023

With DNA, however, "as long as you keep the temperature low enough, the data will survive for thousands of years, so the cost of ownership drops to almost zero", Dr Guise explained.

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2021

But be that as it may, Monsieur de Bellievre, I think I can show you good cause why the Duke of Guise should be no longer absent from Paris.

From Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3) or, The States of Blois by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

Invasive species came in all guises: foreign pestilence, foreign capital, and the developers.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

In its many guises, idolatry has survived, despite regular and often cataclysmic proof of its dangers, for centuries and many people will consider a much-larger-than-life golden statue of a president to be perfectly splendid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026

The average tariff rate remains above 6% - around three times the typical rate at the start of 2025 - because of tariffs imposed under different guises.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026

What emerges from “Tradecraft” is not just the portrait of a master storyteller, but of a man driven by a relentless search for narrative truth in all its guises.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026

"The work I do does not permit me to travel the streets amid a column of knights. So when I leave the castle, I adopt more suitable guises, and thus live to serve you longer."

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

You may believe you deserve your family’s love only when you are acting in ways they support, but real love should never be guised as fear or control.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2023

But for all the circusy bravado of the opening montage, this movie is neither trickle-down treat nor bacchanal guised as bromide, but rather an interrogation of an era defined by an obsession with wealth.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2018

Corden approached the subject guised as a recap of the awards show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2017

It showed an excruciatingly ill-at-ease Mr. Segel guised as Wallace circa the mid-’90s — in granny glasses and a bandanna — wearing an expression that seemed to say, “I shouldn’t be here at all.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2015

Abbe Maury did not pull; but the Charcoalmen brought a mummer guised like him, so he had to pull in effigy.

From The French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle

"If you look at the origins of lots of the things about Halloween they come from here. Carving turnips, guising, wearing masks to scare off creatures," Evelyn said.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2023

In Scotland and other parts of Britain, the practice of "guising," putting on a small performance in exchange for a sweet treat or change, has been a Halloween tradition since the 16th century.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2021

In guidance issued a week ahead of 31 October, people have been told guising and parties are not encouraged.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2020

The announcement of the guidance follows comments by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday, who said it was "not safe" for guising to be allowed this year, due to Covid-19.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2020

Lord Grimsby was trying to recall if ever he had heard of the devil guising himself as a young red-headed girl, covering himself, from horned head to cloven hoof, in azure velvet.

From Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 6, July 1905 by Various

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