CAMOUFLAGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does camouflage mean? 

• CAMOUFLAGE (noun)
  The noun CAMOUFLAGE has 4 senses:

1. an outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature of something

2. fabric dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan; intended to make the wearer of a garment made of this fabric hard to distinguish from the background

3. device or stratagem for concealment or deceit

4. the act of concealing the identity of something by modifying its appearance

  Familiarity information: CAMOUFLAGE used as a noun is uncommon.

• CAMOUFLAGE (verb)
  The verb CAMOUFLAGE has 1 sense:

1. disguise by camouflaging; exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something

  Familiarity information: CAMOUFLAGE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CAMOUFLAGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

camouflage; disguise

Context example:

the theatrical notion of disguise is always associated with catastrophe in his stories

Hypernyms ("camouflage" is a kind of...):

color; colour; gloss; semblance (an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fabric dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan; intended to make the wearer of a garment made of this fabric hard to distinguish from the background

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

camo; camouflage

Hypernyms ("camouflage" is a kind of...):

cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)

Derivation:

camouflage (disguise by camouflaging; exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Device or stratagem for concealment or deceit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("camouflage" is a kind of...):

concealment; cover; covert; screen (a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something)

Derivation:

camouflage (disguise by camouflaging; exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of concealing the identity of something by modifying its appearance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

camouflage; disguise

Context example:

he is a master of disguise

Hypernyms ("camouflage" is a kind of...):

concealing; concealment; hiding (the activity of keeping something secret)

Derivation:

camouflage (disguise by camouflaging; exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something)

• CAMOUFLAGE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they camouflage    ... he / she / it camouflages   
Past simple: camouflaged   
Past participle: camouflaged   
-ing form: camouflaging   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Disguise by camouflaging; exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

The troops camouflaged themselves before they went into enemy territory

Hypernyms (to "camouflage" is one way to...):

disguise; mask (make unrecognizable)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence examples:

They camouflage
They camouflage themselves

Derivation:

camouflage (the act of concealing the identity of something by modifying its appearance)

camouflage (device or stratagem for concealment or deceit)

camouflage (fabric dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan; intended to make the wearer of a garment made of this fabric hard to distinguish from the background)

 Context examples 

On top of chromatophores, two other types of cells - iridophores and leucophores - are involved in the camouflaging process.

(Octopuses can dream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Cutaneous melanin pigment plays a critical role in camouflage, mimicry, social communication, and protection against harmful effects of solar radiation.

(Melanogenesis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Other insects that are camouflaged, such as the brown larch ladybird or green winter moth caterpillar, are fed on by great tits and their young, said Thorogood.

(Birds learn from each other’s ‘disgust’, enabling insects to evolve bright colours, University of Cambridge)

Animals have evolved over millennia to use camouflage as a lifesaving way to dodge predators - so what happens to them when, over the course of just a few decades, their environments change?

(Twenty-one species adapted to disappear in the snow. Then, the snow disappeared, National Science Foundation)

Researchers have developed artificial ‘chameleon skin’ that changes colour when exposed to light and could be used in applications such as active camouflage and large-scale dynamic displays.

(Colour-changing artificial ‘chameleon skin’ powered by nanomachines, University of Cambridge)

We produced liverwort plants with mosaic pigment patterns – resembling military camouflage fatigues – that allowed us to compare pathogen resistance in pigmented and non-pigmented areas of the same plant and found the pigment provided some resistance to pathogen infection.

(Ancient defence strategy continues to protect plants from pathogens, University of Cambridge)

The researcher said this marine animal could be dreaming, as the different colors are the same camouflage she uses when hunting and eating prey while awake.

(Octopuses can dream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

'You could almost narrate the body changes and narrate the dream. She sees a crab and her color starts to change a little bit, then she turns all dark, octopuses will do that when they leave the bottom.' 'This is a camouflage, like she's just subdued a crab and she's just going to sit there and eat it, and she doesn't want anyone to notice her.' 'It's a very unusual behavior to see the color come and go on her mantle like that, just to be able to see all the different color patterns flashing one after the other, you don't normally see that when an animal's sleeping.'

(Octopuses can dream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)