vizard
/ˈvɪzəd/
vizard noun: a mask (cover for the face, used for disguise, protection, etc.). Also the alternative spelling of visard.
Noun
vizard (plural vizards)
- A mask (cover for the face, used for disguise, protection, etc.)
- […] one Roscius Gallus the most excellent player among the Romaines brought up these vizards, which we see at this day used, partly to supply the want of players, when there were moe parts than there were persons, or that it was not thought meet to trouble and pester princes chambers with too many...1589, George Puttenham, The Arte of English Poesie, Book I, Chapter 14
- There, then, that vizard, that superfluous case
That hid the worse and show’d the better face.c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- A visor (part of a helmet covering the face).
- I walked up gravely to the window in my dusty black coat, and looking through the glass saw all the world in yellow, blue, and green, running at the ring of pleasure.—The old with broken lances, and in helmets which had lost their vizards;—the young in armour bright which shone like gold, beplumed...1768, Mr. Yorick [pseudonym; Laurence Sterne], A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […], →OCLC
- Outward appearance; pretense.
- Oh, that deceit should steal such gentle shapes,
And with a virtuous vizard hide foul guile!c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and... - And why should God enter covenant with a people to be holy, as the Command is holy, and just, and good, Rom. 7.12 and yet suffer an impure and treacherous dispence to mislead and betray them under the vizard of Law to a legitimate practise of uncleanness.1644, J[ohn] M[ilton], chapter IV, in The Doctrine or Discipline of Divorce: […], 2nd edition, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, book II, page 41
- Oh, that deceit should steal such gentle shapes,
Proper noun capitalized: Vizard
Vizard
- A surname.
Also used as
vizard is also the alternative spelling of visard.
Examples of vizard in a sentence
- Now by the chaunge of a vizard one man might play the king and the carter, the old nurse and the yong damsell, the marchant and the souldier or any other part he listed very conveniently.1589, George Puttenham, The Arte of English Poesie, Book I, Chapter 14:
- Some critics, whose good-will towards a favourite performer was stronger than their judgment, took occasion to remonstrate with the successful actor on the subject of the grotesque vizard.1827, [Walter Scott], “Introduction”, in Chronicles of the Canongate; […], Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London...
Forms of vizard
| plural | vizards |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | vizzard |
Origin of vizard
An alteration of visor by confusion of the ending.
Words formed from vizard
Words that rhyme with vizard
Questions about vizard
- What does vizard mean?
- Vizard means a mask (cover for the face, used for disguise, protection, etc.).
- How do you use vizard in a sentence?
- Now by the chaunge of a vizard one man might play the king and the carter, the old nurse and the yong damsell, the marchant and the souldier or any other part he listed very conveniently.
- What part of speech is vizard?
- Vizard can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce vizard?
- Vizard is pronounced /ˈvɪzəd/.
- What is the plural of vizard?
- The plural of vizard is vizards.
Words near vizard in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: vizard (page history and authors); Vizard (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-vizard.wav.
Cite this entry: “vizard.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/vizard. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.