Adjacent Words

Disguise definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISGUISE, v.t. disgize.
1. To conceal by an unusual habit, or mask. Men sometimes disguise themselves fro the purpose of committing crimes without danger of detection. They disguise their faces in a masquerade.
2. To hide by a counterfeit appearance; to cloke by a false show, by false language, or an artificial manner; as, to disguise anger, sentiments or intentions.
3. To disfigure; to alter the form, and exhibit an unusual appearance.
They saw the faces, which too well they knew, though then disguised in death.
4. To disfigure or deform by liquor; to intoxicate.
DISGUISE, n.
1. A counterfeit habit; a dress intended to conceal the person who wears it.
By the laws of England, persons doing unlawful acts in disguise are subjected to heavy penalties, and in some cases, declared felons.
2. A false appearance; a counterfeit show; an artificial or assumed appearance in tended to deceive the beholder.
A treacherous design is often concealed under the disguise of great candor.
3. Change of manner by drink; intoxication.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature of something; "the theatrical notion of disguise is always associated with catastrophe in his stories" [syn: disguise, camouflage]
2: any attire that modifies the appearance in order to conceal the wearer's identity
3: the act of concealing the identity of something by modifying its appearance; "he is a master of disguise" [syn: disguise, camouflage] v
1: make unrecognizable; "The herb masks the garlic taste"; "We disguised our faces before robbing the bank" [syn: disguise, mask]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (disguised; disguising) Etymology: Middle English disgisen, from Anglo-French desguiser, deguiser, from des- dis- + guise guise Date: 14th century 1. a. to change the customary dress or appearance of b. to furnish with a false appearance or an assumed identity 2. obsolete disfigure 3. to obscure the existence or true state or character of ; conceal <unable to disguise his true feelings> • disguisedly adverb • disguisement noun • disguiser noun Synonyms: disguise, cloak, mask mean to alter the dress or appearance of so as to conceal the identity or true nature. disguise implies a change in appearance or behavior that misleads by presenting a different apparent identity <disguised herself as a peasant>. cloak suggests a means of hiding a movement or an intention <cloaked their maneuvers in secrecy>. mask suggests some often obvious means of hiding or disguising something <smiling to mask his discontent>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. apparel assumed to conceal one's identity or counterfeit another's 2. the act of disguising 3. a. form misrepresenting the true nature of something <blessings in disguise> b. an artificial manner ; pretense <threw off all disguise>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. 1 (often foll. by as) alter the appearance, sound, smell, etc., of so as to conceal the identity; make unrecognizable (disguised herself as a policewoman; disguised the taste by adding sugar). 2 misrepresent or cover up (disguised the truth; disguised their intentions). --n. 1 a a costume, false beard, make-up, etc., used to alter the appearance so as to conceal or deceive. b any action, manner, etc., used for deception. 2 a the act or practice of disguising; the concealment of reality. b an instance of this. Phrases and idioms: in disguise 1 wearing a concealing costume etc. 2 appearing to be the opposite (a blessing in disguise). Derivatives: disguisement n. Etymology: ME f. OF desguis(i)er (as DIS-, GUISE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Disguise Dis*guise" (?; 232), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Disguised; p. pr. & vb. n. Disguising.] [OE. desguisen, disgisen, degisen, OF. desguisier, F. d['e]guiser; pref. des- (L. dis-) + guise. See Guise.] 1. To change the guise or appearance of; especially, to conceal by an unusual dress, or one intended to mislead or deceive. Bunyan was forced to disguise himself as a wagoner. --Macaulay. 2. To hide by a counterfeit appearance; to cloak by a false show; to mask; as, to disguise anger; to disguise one's sentiments, character, or intentions. All God's angels come to us disguised. --Lowell. 3. To affect or change by liquor; to intoxicate. 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 ship. --Spectator. Syn: To conceal; hide; mask; dissemble; dissimulate; feign; pretend; secrete. See Conceal.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Disguise Dis*guise", n. 1. A dress or exterior put on for purposes of concealment or of deception; as, persons doing unlawful acts in disguise are subject to heavy penalties. There is no passion steals into the heart more imperceptibly and covers itself under more disguises, than pride. --Addison. 2. Artificial language or manner assumed for deception; false appearance; counterfeit semblance or show. That eye which glances through all disguises. --D. Webster. 3. Change of manner by drink; intoxication. --Shak. 4. A masque or masquerade. [Obs.] Disguise was the old English word for a masque. --B. Jonson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(disguises, disguising, disguised) 1. If you are in disguise, you are not wearing your usual clothes or you have altered your appearance in other ways, so that people will not recognize you. You'll have to travel in disguise... He was wearing that ridiculous disguise... N-VAR: oft in N 2. If you disguise yourself, you put on clothes which make you look like someone else or alter your appearance in other ways, so that people will not recognize you. She disguised herself as a man so she could fight on the battlefield. VERB: V pron-refl as n, also V pron-refl • disguised The extremists entered the building disguised as medical workers... ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ as n 3. To disguise something means to hide it or make it appear different so that people will not know about it or will not recognize it. He made no attempt to disguise his agitation... VERB: V n • disguised This is lust thinly disguised as love. ADJ 4. a blessing in disguise: see blessing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Conceal (by dress or outward appearance), cloak, veil, shroud, muffle, mask, hide, dissemble. II. n. 1. Mask, cover, counterfeit dress. 2. False appearance, counterfeit show, cloak, blind, pretence, pretext.

Moby Thesaurus

accouter, acting, affect, affectation, appearance, assume, attitudinizing, bad copy, bad likeness, ballet skirt, becloud, befog, belie, blanket, blind, bluff, bluffing, burlesque, buskin, camouflage, cap and bells, caparison, caricature, charade, cheating, cloak, cloud, color, coloring, conceal, contrast, costume, counterfeit, cover, cover up, cover-up, curtain, deceive, deception, delusion, difference, disparity, dissemblance, dissemble, dissembling, dissimilarity, dissimilate, dissimilation, dissimilitude, dissimulate, dissimulation, distort, distract attention from, divergence, diversity, domino, dress up, eclipse, embellish, embroider, ensconce, enshroud, envelop, equip, exaggerate, facade, face, fake, fakery, faking, false air, false colors, false face, false front, false show, falsify, falsity, feign, feigning, feint, fit, fit out, form, four-flushing, fraud, front, fudge, garble, getup, gild, gilt, gloss, gloss over, guise, habit, hide, humbug, humbuggery, identity, imposture, incognito, incommensurability, incomparability, keep under cover, make-believe, makeup, mask, masque, masquerade, mere caricature, meretriciousness, miscite, miscolor, misquote, misreport, misrepresent, misstate, misteach, motley, mummery, nonuniformity, obfuscate, obscure, occult, ostentation, outfit, outward show, overdraw, overstate, pageant, parody, pervert, playacting, poor imitation, pose, posing, posture, pretend, pretense, pretension, pretentiousness, pretext, protective coloration, put-on, representation, rig, rig out, rig up, screen, seeming, semblance, shade, sham, show, shroud, simulacrum, simulate, simulation, slant, slur over, smoke screen, sock, speciousness, strain, suit, tights, titivate, travesty, trick out, turn out, tutu, twist, understate, uniform, unlikeness, unresemblance, unsameness, unsimilarity, varnish, vary, veil, veneer, visor, vizard, vizard mask, warp, whitewash, window dressing, wraps, wrench