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

But Colatarci’s sister, then a high-school senior, wasn’t incognito when she set out on a quest for a prom dress.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

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

The technology behind WhatsApp's incognito mode is not the same as the end-to-end encryption the platform uses to protect other messages, but it is "the equivalent," Cathcart added.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

I could also turn off my nametag completely, which was what I did now, because I wanted to travel incognito.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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

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

Upon the third day, however, there was noticed a mysterious figure, like the inscrutable incognitos sometimes encountered, crossing the tower-shadowed Plaza of Assignations at Lima.

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

He replied that, by courtesy, incognitos were sacred.

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