disguise

Middle English disgisen, disguisen, borrowed from Old French desguiser (modern déguiser), itself derived from des- (“dis-”)" (from Latin dis-) + guise (“guise”) (from a Germanic source).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪsˈɡaɪz/, /dɪzˈɡaɪz/
• General American IPA^(key): /dɪˈskaɪz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dis‧guise
• Rhymes: -aɪz

disguise (countable and uncountable, plural disguises)

1. Material (such as clothing, makeup, a wig) used to alter one’s visual appearance in order to hide one's identity or assume another.

   A cape and moustache completed his disguise.

2. (figuratively) The appearance of something on the outside which masks what's beneath.
3. The act of disguising, notably as a ploy.

   Any disguise may expose soldiers to be deemed enemy spies.

4. (archaic) A change of behaviour resulting from intoxication.

• camouflage
• guise
• mask
• pretense

disguise (third-person singular simple present disguises, present participle disguising, simple past and past participle disguised)

1. (transitive) To change the appearance of (a person or thing) so as to hide, or to assume an identity.

   Spies often disguise themselves.

   • Macaulay

     Bunyan was forced to disguise himself as a wagoner.

2. (transitive) To avoid giving away or revealing (something secret); to hide by a false appearance.

   He disguised his true intentions.

3. (archaic) To affect or change by liquor; to intoxicate.
   • Spectator

     I have just left the right worshipful, and his myrmidons, about a sneaker or five gallons; the whole magistracy was pretty well disguised before I gave them the slip.

   • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard

     But my lord was angry, and being disguised with liquor too, he would not let him go till they played more; and play they did, and the luck still went the same way; […]

• camouflage
• cloak
• mask
• hide

• disguisedly
• disguisement
• disguiser