Meaning & use
disguise
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A costume, change of appearance, or false manner used to hide who someone really is or what something really is.
Grammar: Countable when referring to a specific outfit or pretense: He wore a disguise. Uncountable when referring to the state of being hidden: She is in disguise.
Patterns
- in disguise
- wear a disguise
- a disguise as something
The spy entered the building in disguise.
She wore a disguise so that no one would recognize her at the party.
His friendly manner was just a disguise for his real intentions.
verbtransitive
To change the appearance, sound, or nature of someone or something so that people cannot recognize or identify it.
Grammar: Takes an object: disguise your voice. Often used with 'as': He disguised himself as a guard.
Patterns
- disguise someone/something
- disguise yourself as someone/something
- disguise something as something
He disguised his voice to avoid being recognized on the phone.
The company tried to disguise the bad news with positive publicity.
She disguised herself as a waiter to get into the event.
Word forms
| plural | disguises |
|---|---|
| third person singular | disguises |
| past tense | disguised |
| past participle | disguised |
| -ing form | disguising |
Common combinations
- in disguise
- The prince traveled in disguise.
- wear a disguise
- The thief wore a disguise to hide his face.
- a blessing in disguise
- Losing that job was a blessing in disguise; I found a better one.
- disguise the truth
- He tried to disguise the truth about the accident.
- disguise your voice
- She disguised her voice to sound like a man.
Synonyms and how they differ
- costume
- A set of clothes worn for a performance or party; a disguise is specifically meant to hide identity.
- mask
- A covering for the face; a disguise can involve more than just a mask.
- conceal
- To hide something; as a verb, disguise often means to change appearance, while conceal means to keep from being seen or known.
- camouflage
- A way of hiding by blending with the surroundings; disguise often involves changing your identity, not just blending in.
Opposites
Word family
- disguised adjective
- Wearing a disguise or changed in appearance.
- disguisement noun
- Rare; the act of disguising or the state of being disguised.
Commonly confused: disguise or disgust?
disguise vs disgust
A strong feeling of dislike or disapproval; disguise is about hiding identity, not about feeling disgust.
Practice
The detective went to the party ______ disguise to observe the suspect.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'in disguise', meaning wearing a disguise. Other prepositions like 'on' or 'with' do not form this common expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “disguise”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.