Disguised

How to spell disguised

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce disguised

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does disguised mean?

1. adjectiveAltered in appearance or nature so that the true identity, form, or intention is hidden.
2. verbConcealed or altered something so that its true identity or nature could not be recognised.

Disguised in a sentence

• adjective

  The detective remained disguised as he watched the suspect at the cafe.

• verb

  He disguised the savings as ordinary household expenses in the ledger.

• adjective

  Her frustration was thinly disguised behind a polite smile.

• verb

  The actor disguised his voice so completely that no one knew him on the phone.

Where does disguised come from?

Language of origin: French

This word goes back to the Old French verb desguiser, which combined des- (a prefix meaning 'away from' or 'undo') with guise, a noun meaning 'manner', 'fashion', or 'outward appearance'. That guise element was itself borrowed into French from a Germanic source related to the old word for 'wise' or 'way of doing things', the same family that gives modern English 'guise' and the '-wise' in words like 'likewise'. The literal early idea was to put off one's usual appearance or change one's customary style, which is exactly why it came to mean altering how someone looks so they cannot be recognised. English took the verb in during the 1300s, and the past form 'disguised' soon doubled as an adjective for anything dressed up or concealed. The silent-feeling 'gu' spelling, where the u props up a hard g sound, is a direct fossil of that French ancestry and is the part writers most often fumble.

How the word is built

• dis- (apart, un-, reversal)
• guise (outward appearance, manner)
• -ed (past tense / adjective suffix)