Trivia Time

Which Russian ruler traveled incognito to study shipbuilding?

Test Your Knowledge

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

---

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

---

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

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)

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

Sugar came to Earth as part of a group of “thousands,” mixing among humans incognito just to observe them, for benign alien reasons, like Starship Enterprise on its five-year mission.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

When a complex operation went awry and led to the death of her romantic partner, the pregnant Kendal quit the business and vowed to raise her baby incognito as a low-profile civilian in Switzerland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

“You always want to carve out a little bit of time to just support the team,” Mamdani said when asked in an interview about his incognito appearance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

"Nobody had noticed she was here. She had managed to keep herself completely incognito," said Murdo, a postman in the Scottish Borders.

From BBC ● May 1, 2026

Thus, to travel incognito means to be “not known”; to use a false identity, or to be in disguise.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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

From Washington Post ● Jun. 1, 2015

Harold, Lara, Manfred, and a crowd of other characters, were universally considered merely as loose incognitos of Byron; and there is every reason to believe that he meant them to be so considered.

From Critical and Historical Essays — Volume 2 by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay

He replied that, by courtesy, incognitos were sacred.

From Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I by Herman Melville

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

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