incognito

[in-kog-nee-toh, in-kog-ni-toh]

adjective

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

   Synonyms: unidentified, undisclosed

adverb

1. with the real identity concealed.

   to travel incognito.

noun

plural

incognitos 

1. a person who is incognito.

2. the state of being incognito.

3. the disguise or character assumed by an incognito.

incognito

/ ɪnˈkɒɡnɪtəʊ, ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtəʊ /

adverb

1. under an assumed name or appearance; in disguise

noun

1. a person who is incognito

2. the assumed name or disguise of such a person

Word History and Origins

Origin of incognito¹

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”; cognition )

Word History and Origins

Origin of incognito¹

C17: from Italian, from Latin incognitus unknown, from _in- ¹ + cognitus known

Example Sentences

His siblings had studied enough Latin to know what incognito meant: it was simply in, which means “not,” plus cognitus, which means “to know.”

Read more on Literature

Use the chatbot’s incognito mode, which won’t save the query to your account and will prevent it from being used to train the model.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When possible, opt to store browsing activity locally, so it isn’t sent to company servers, and use incognito mode for sensitive queries.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Three months into the show’s run, Ms. King went to a performance incognito.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"I'm afraid that if I'm walking, I will be approached by agents in incognito clothes and plain disguise," he continued.

Read more on BBC