Disguise

How to spell disguise

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce disguise

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does disguise mean?

1. verbTo change the appearance of someone or something in order to conceal its true identity or nature.
2. nounA costume, makeup, or other means of altering appearance so as not to be recognised.

Disguise in a sentence

• verb

  The spy tried to disguise his accent during the interview.

• noun

  The detective wore a clever disguise to slip into the warehouse unnoticed.

• verb

  She used heavy curtains to disguise the shabby state of the windows.

• noun

  His polite smile was just a disguise for his real intentions.

Where does disguise come from?

Language of origin: French

This word comes from the Old French desguiser, which meant 'to change one's appearance' or 'to put on a false look'. It was built from the prefix des- (here intensive or reversing) and guise, meaning 'manner' or 'outward appearance', a word the French had themselves borrowed from a Germanic source related to 'wise' in the sense of way or fashion. English took it up in the 1300s, originally describing a change of dress or custom, and only later narrowed to the modern sense of deliberately hiding one's true identity. The buried word guise is the key to spelling it: people often want to write 'disquise' with a q, but the middle letters are g-u, just as in 'guise', 'guess', and 'guide'. The same Germanic root also gives us the everyday word 'wise', so 'disguise' literally carries the idea of changing the way something appears.

How the word is built

• dis- (completely, or reversal of)
• guise (manner, outward appearance, from Old French guise)