Word.ws English Dictionary

don't judge a book by its cover

don't judge a book by its cover is the alternative form of you can't judge a book by its cover.

Meaning of you can't judge a book by its cover

Proverb

you can't judge a book by its cover

  1. (figuratively, idiomatic) It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone.
    Synonyms:
    clothes don't make the man, the cowl does not make the monk, all that glitters is not gold, looks can be deceiving, appearances are deceptive, don't just scratch the surface, Anything essential is invisible to the eyes, One sees clearly only with the heart, Other things besides cream float to the top

Questions about don't judge a book by its cover

What is don't judge a book by its cover the alternative form of?
Don't judge a book by its cover is the alternative form of you can't judge a book by its cover.

Words near don't judge a book by its cover in the dictionary

  1. don't go there
  2. don't got
  3. don't hate the player, hate the game
  4. don't hold your breath
  5. don't I know it
  6. don't judge a book by its cover
  7. don't keep a dog and bark yourself
  8. don't knock it till you've tried it
  9. don't knock it until you've tried it
  10. don't knock yourself out
  11. don't know

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: don't judge a book by its cover (page history and authors); you can't judge a book by its cover (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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