disguise

Syllables: dis·guiseUK/dɪsˈɡaɪz//dɪsˈɡaɪz/

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

Noun

disguise (countable and uncountable, plural disguises)

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.
- hiding one's treacherous intentions under the guise of friendship
(figuratively) The appearance of something on the outside which masks what’s beneath.
- old ideas in a new guise
The act or state of disguising, notably as a ploy.
- Any disguise may expose soldiers to be deemed enemy spies.
(archaic) A change of behaviour resulting from intoxication, drunkenness.

Verb

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

(transitive) To change the appearance of (a person or thing) so as to hide, or to assume an identity.
- Spies often disguise themselves.
- Bunyan was forced to disguise himself as a wagoner.1911, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Bunyan, John”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
Synonyms:

masquerade
(obsolete, transitive) To transform or disfigure, to change the appearance of in general.
(transitive) To avoid giving away or revealing (something secret); to hide by a false appearance.
- He disguised his true intentions.
(obsolete, transitive) To dress in newfangled or showy clothing, to deck out in new fashions.
(intransitive, obsolete) To dissemble, to talk or act falsely while concealing one’s thoughts.
(archaic, transitive) 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 slip.1714 November 15 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, November 5, 1714”, in The Spectator, number 616; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […]...
- 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; […]1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard

disguise meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

disguise in Hindi

attire to hide/assume an identity: भेस bhes

disguise in Marathi

attire to hide/assume an identity: वेषांतर veṣāntar
act of disguising: गुप्तवेष guptaveṣ

disguise in Urdu

disguise; guise: بھیس bhes
disguise: سوانگ svāṅg

More languagesFewer languages

disguise in Bengali: ছদ্ম chodmo
disguise in Telugu: వేషము vēṣamu
disguise in Malayalam: വേഷ്ടം vēṣṭaṁ, വേഷം vēṣaṁ
disguise in Kannada: ವೇಷಾಂತರ, ಛದ್ಮವೇಷ, ಕೃತಕ ವರ್ತನೆ, ವಂಚನೆಯ ವೇಷ
disguise in Punjabi: ਸਾਂਗ sāṅg
disguise in Gujarati: વેશપલટો, વેશપલટો કરવો, વેશપલટો કરવા માટે
disguise in Sanskrit: केलि keli
disguise in Nepali: छद्मवेश, छद्मवेष, छद्मकरण गर्न
disguise in Arabic: تَنَكُّر tanakkur, تَنَكَّرَ tanakkara

Examples of disguise in a sentence

All that talk is just a smokescreen to disguise the fact that he has nothing to say.
He disguised himself as a businessman to blend in with the others wearing suits.
The celebrity went unnoticed by her fans because she was in disguise.

All 40 example sentences with disguise

Synonyms of disguise

All synonyms of disguise

Forms of disguise

Noun
plural	disguises
Verb
third-person singular present	disguises
present participle	disguising
past participle	disguised
past	disguised

Past tense of disguise: disguised

Plural of disguise: disguises

Origin of disguise

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

Words formed from disguise

Phrases with disguise

Words that rhyme with disguise

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about disguise

What does disguise mean?: Disguise means material (such as clothing, makeup, a wig) used to alter one’s visual appearance in order to hide one's identity or assume another.
What is disguise in Hindi?: Disguise in Hindi is भेस (bhes). See Disguise meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is disguise?: Disguise can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce disguise?: Disguise is pronounced /dɪsˈɡaɪz/ (UK).
What is the plural of disguise?: The plural of disguise is disguises.

Words near disguise in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-disguise.ogg.

Cite this entry: “disguise.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/disguise. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.