disguise1 verbdisguise2 noun
disguisedis‧guise1 /dɪsˈɡaɪz/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 
WORD ORIGINdisguise1
Origin:
1300-1400 Old French desguiser, from guise ‘appearance’VERB TABLE
disguise
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | disguise |
| he, she, it | disguises | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | disguised |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have disguised |
| he, she, it | has disguised | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had disguised |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will disguise |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have disguised |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am disguising |
| he, she, it | is disguising | |
| you, we, they | are disguising | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was disguising |
| you, we, they | were disguising | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been disguising |
| he, she, it | has been disguising | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been disguising |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be disguising |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been disguising |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He spent several years in the monastery disguised as a monk.
- Larry couldn't disguise his satisfaction at seeing his competitor go out of business.
- She managed to get into the camp by disguising herself as a soldier.
- The FBI say the hijackers were very likely to have been disguised.
- The men had disguised the vessel as fishing boat to escape.
- The park's waterfalls disguise the traffic noise from the freeway.
- The robber was wearing a paper bag over his head to disguise his face.
- And then the genie told him about the magician disguised as the holy woman.
- But what is striking now is that neither side seems bothered about disguising those differences.
- Dexter admired the way in which his boss disguised who she was really interested in.
- Do not disguise your intentions in order to achieve your own ends as doing this only feeds the negativity within you.
- Myriad receptions and reunions could not disguise the bleak prospects for job hunters.
- No amount of expensive television advertising can disguise that.
- Their Walkpersons are in actuality radar sensors cleverly disguised, I theorize.
- With horrible political insight they found a way to disguise the thing.
THESAURUS
to make something difficult to see or find, or to not show your true feelings: · He hid the gun in his pocket.· She tried to hide her anger.· The actress put up a hand to hide her face from the cameras.
formal to hide something, especially by carefully putting it somewhere. Also used when talking about hiding your feelings, especially in negative sentences: · Several kilos of drugs were concealed in the back of the truck.· He could not conceal his feelings any longer.· The girl quickly concealed the photograph she had been gazing at.
to put something over another thing that you do not want people to see, in order to hide it completely: · People cover up cracks with wallpaper or tiles.· I used some make-up to cover up the spots.· She was wearing a thin shawl to cover up the bruises on her arm.
to make someone or something seem like a different person or thing, so that other people cannot recognize them: · She managed to get into the camp by disguising herself as a soldier.· The men had disguised the vessel as fishing boat.
to hide something by covering it with materials that make it look like the things around it: · We camouflaged the plane by covering it with leaves.· The troops used charcoal to camouflage their faces.· Soldiers had camouflaged the trucks with branches and dirt.
literary to make it difficult to see something clearly: · The view was obscured by mist.· His body was found, partially obscured by bushes, at the bottom of a shallow canyon.
to make something less noticeable, for example a taste, a smell, a sound, or a feeling: · The lemon helps to mask the taste of the fish.· Helen had turned on the radio to mask the noise of the traffic.· He did little to mask his contempt.
Longman Language Activatorto hide someone or something by making them look different to make someone or something look different in order to deceive people, for example by changing someone's clothes or hair: · The FBI say the hijackers were very likely to have been disguised.disguise somebody/something as: · The men had disguised the vessel as fishing boat to escape.· He spent several years in the monastery disguised as a monk.disguise yourself as: · She managed to get into the camp by disguising herself as a soldier.
to hide someone or something by covering them with materials that help them to look like the surrounding area: · We camouflaged the plane by covering it with leaves.camouflage somebody/something with something: · Soldiers had camouflaged the trucks with branches and dirt.camouflage yourself: · The lizards camouflage themselves by changing colour.
to hide your feelings to deliberately not show what you are feeling or thinking: · He hides his real feelings under that big smile.· "That's OK," she said, trying to hide her disappointment.hide something from somebody: · I tried to hide my anxiety from the rest of the family by pretending that everything was normal.
to not show in your face, voice, or movements what you really think or feel: · If she was surprised, she didn't show it.· My husband never shows emotion, so I never know if he's upset.
formal to hide your feelings or intentions especially when you have to make an effort to do this: · Kim could barely conceal her annoyance that I had arrived so late.· I yawned, not bothering to conceal my boredom.conceal something from somebody: · Hawkins was incapable of concealing how he felt from his close friends.
to avoid showing your true feelings or intentions by pretending to feel something else: · Kate gave a cheerful smile, somehow managing to disguise her embarrassment.· "That's great!" she cried, unable to disguise her excitement.· He often masked his feelings of guilt by becoming angry at the people he had wronged.
to not allow yourself to show your feelings, especially if you are angry, worried, or upset - use this especially when you think it would be better for someone to show their feelings so they can be dealt with: bottle something up: · It's not healthy to bottle all your feelings up like that.· The anger that he had bottled up inside him finally exploded.keep something bottled up: · She wanted to cry but she kept it bottled up inside.
formal to not allow yourself to feel or show strong feelings such as anger, sadness, or love, especially when you have difficulty controlling these feelings: · She had had to suppress her feelings for George throughout his long marriage to her friend.· Finally Glen could suppress his anger no longer and he lashed out at his mother.
formal to deliberately stop yourself from having or expressing particular feelings, especially because you are ashamed of them, in a way that may have harmful mental effects: · Individuals who repress their sexual desires often suffer from psychological problems.· Denying or repressing sorrow often seems the easiest way out when confronted with death.
to pretend that you are happy or confident when in fact you are very upset about something but you do not want to show this: · When she lost her job she put on a brave face and said it didn't matter.· Most of his teammates put up a brave front when they talked about his departure.put on a brave face/put up a brave front on: · The speech was given to put a brave face on the president's declining popularity.
words for describing feelings, attitudes etc that are hidden · He's always joking around to make sure his true feelings stay hidden.· Even after years of psychiatric treatment, she was full of hidden anger.hidden talents (=abilities that you did not know someone had) · You can dance and sing! I never realized you had so many hidden talents.hidden meaning · The lyrics of most of his songs have some hidden meaning.
feelings or attitudes that are disguised are kept hidden, but usually not very well: · "OK, I'll do it," she said with barely disguised hostility.thinly disguised (=hardly disguised at all): · The speech was seen by many as a thinly disguised attack on the President.
strong feelings, such as anger, fear, or happiness, that are suppressed are ones that you do not allow yourself to feel or show: · He is full of suppressed anger and needs to find some way of releasing it.· The intensity of the trial caused her long-suppressed emotions to come out in the open.
feelings that are repressed are ones that you deliberately stop yourself from feeling, or have been taught not to feel from when you were a child, especially feelings that you are ashamed of: · The Victorian era is characterized by its strict conventions and repressed emotion.· I had a lot of repressed anger toward my family that I didn't realize till my father died.
a veiled threat, warning etc is one that you do not make directly, but deliberately do not hide well, so that the person you are dealing with understands what your real intention is: · His attempt to get us to help him is just a veiled form of blackmail.· Her comments were nothing more than a veiled criticism of my work.thinly veiled (=only slightly hidden): · The opposition leader has made thinly veiled threats of violence.
to pretend to be someone else to behave as if you are someone else and try to make other people believe this: pretend to be somebody: · We pretended to be students and got into the club for free.pretend (that): · They got into the house by pretending they worked for the electricity company.
to pretend that you are cleverer, richer, more important etc than you really are: · Richard led us around the art gallery, making himself out to be some kind of expert on modern art.· What I don't like about her is that she makes herself out to be something special.
to behave as though you are someone with official power or someone famous, either for dishonest reasons or in order to entertain people: · I got home to find him impersonating Elvis Presley in front of the mirror.· It's illegal to impersonate a police officer.
to speak, walk, or behave like someone else, in order to make people laugh: do an impersonation/do an impression of: · Stuart did a brilliant impersonation of the boss.· a comedian with his own TV show, who does impressions of famous politicians
when you pretend to be someone else and behave as they would behave, especially as a way of learning about a situation or developing a skill: · The course uses role play to teach you how to deal with difficult or aggressive customers.
to pretend to be someone else, especially someone in an official position, in order to make it easier for you to do something bad or illegal: · He posed as a doctor to gain access to the hospital.· There have been cases of thieves posing as telephone engineers to trick people into letting them into their homes.
to pretend that you are someone else, especially by dressing or behaving in the way that they do - used especially in literature and stories: · He got into the stadium masquerading as a security guard.· A journalist masquerading as a businessman approached the politicians, and offered them bribes.
to change your appearance, especially your clothes, so that you look like someone else and people cannot recognize you: · He escaped across the border disguised as a priest.disguise yourself as: · Maybe you could disguise yourself as a waiter and sneak in there.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
There’s no disguising the fact that business is bad. The speech was seen by many as a thinly disguised attack on the president.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
There’s no disguising the fact that business is bad. The speech was seen by many as a thinly disguised attack on the president.· This was a thinly disguised device designed to give Harleston the opportunity to ease Jeffries out painlessly and to find a replacement.· Hardly compatible with discretion, that I should ride to the Palace in so thinly disguised a vehicle.· Mostly they turned out to be thinly disguised candidate ads, a violation of the spirit of the law at best.· Both, however, were under external threat from barbarians more or less thinly disguised.· No question, a lot of corporate take-overs are shams, thinly disguised.
NOUN· The effect Jennifer had on him was so obvious that Ann was amazed he made no attempt to disguise it.· He made no attempt to disguise his limp.· Johnson makes no attempt to disguise the fact.· Does Sanchez worry about attempts at disguised retaliation?· He made no attempt to disguise it and sold the car to a firm of car dealers.
· That impersonality is the essence of war and the Thiepval Memorial attempts to disguise that fact by pretending to commemorate persons.· But this justifiable pleasure does not disguise the fact that much was left undone.· Obviously the maid was disguised in view of the fact that we were known to be looking for two women travelling together.· Clare moved on purposefully, as if it was necessary to disguise the fact that she had no money.· But none of this could disguise the fact that the great nobles had substantial bodies of experienced soldiers at their disposal.· Johnson makes no attempt to disguise the fact.· The essential purpose was to disguise the fact that Dennis was an alcoholic.· Using so many spices helped to disguise the fact that the food was often far from fresh.
VERB· She didn't try to disguise the gap it left behind by drawing the other suits together.· Kim said, trying his best to disguise his shock and fear at such a proposal.· Indeed he had not tried to disguise in his Middle East diaries what he knew would happen to the soldiers.· It was the kind of station, and nobody tried to disguise it, where self-respecting disc jockeys were never found.· I thought it was you; you were trying to disguise your voice.· She too had tried to disguise herself in kurta pajama, had pulled her hair back as I had done.· He stood accused of trying to disguise a crude revenue-raising measure.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to change someone’s appearance so that people cannot recognize themdisguise yourself as somebody/something- The loss of fertilizer proved to be a blessing in disguise. It forced us to use compost, which is better for the soil and crops.
- Again, one may be forced to the conclusion that his departure was a blessing in disguise for him.
- Be positive, this could be a blessing in disguise, use the time gained wisely.
- But in a way that time lag, though it could be frustrating, was also a blessing in disguise.
- Poor Jonas' death was a blessing in disguise, though one could wish it had happened differently.
- The crash was a blessing in disguise for Schwab.
- The great cattle freeze of the white winter had been, in retrospect, a blessing in disguise.
- The Labour defeat was a disaster, but it might be a blessing in disguise.
- Well, maybe this is a blessing in disguise.
- Almost all his climbs have a certain something: a thinly disguised air of intimidation often allied to a raw brutality.
- Both, however, were under external threat from barbarians more or less thinly disguised.
- Dole passed up two thinly veiled invitations by moderator Jim Lehrer to address so-called character issues.
- Hardly compatible with discretion, that I should ride to the Palace in so thinly disguised a vehicle.
- I should hate to give the impression that my love for you is but thinly disguised lust.
- Mostly they turned out to be thinly disguised candidate ads, a violation of the spirit of the law at best.
- Mrs Thatcher's public speeches contained thinly veiled warning messages to colleagues who doubted the strategy.
- She was only thinly veiled, and Rostov could see that although she was beautiful, she was old.
Maybe you could disguise yourself as a waiter and sneak in there. He escaped across the border disguised as a priest.► see thesaurus at hide2to change the appearance, sound, taste etc of something so that people do not recognize it: There’s no way you can disguise that southern accent.disguise something as something a letter bomb disguised as a musical greetings card3to hide a fact or feeling so that people will not notice it: Try as he might, Dan couldn’t disguise his feelings for Katie.disguise the fact (that) There’s no disguising the fact that business is bad. The speech was seen by many as a thinly disguised attack on the president.disguise1 verbdisguise2 noun
disguisedisguise2 ●●○ noun 1[countable, uncountable] something that you wear to change your appearance and hide who you are, or the act of wearing this: His disguise didn’t fool anyone. She wore dark glasses in an absurd attempt at disguise.2in disguise a)wearing a disguise: The woman in the park turned out to be a police officer in disguise. b)made to seem like something else that is better: ‘Tax reform’ is just a tax increase in disguise. → blessing in disguise at blessing(4)