DISGUISE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does disguise mean? 

• DISGUISE (noun)
  The noun DISGUISE has 3 senses:

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

2. any attire that modifies the appearance in order to conceal the wearer's identity

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

  Familiarity information: DISGUISE used as a noun is uncommon.

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

1. make unrecognizable

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISGUISE (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 ("disguise" is a kind of...):

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any attire that modifies the appearance in order to conceal the wearer's identity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

attire; dress; garb (clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disguise"):

fancy dress; masquerade; masquerade costume (a costume worn as a disguise at a masquerade party)

mask (a covering to disguise or conceal the face)

Derivation:

disguise (make unrecognizable)

Sense 3

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 ("disguise" is a kind of...):

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

Derivation:

disguise (make unrecognizable)

• DISGUISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they disguise    ... he / she / it disguises   
Past simple: disguised   
Past participle: disguised   
-ing form: disguising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make unrecognizable

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

disguise; mask

Context example:

We disguised our faces before robbing the bank

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

conceal; hide (prevent from being seen or discovered)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "disguise"):

cloak; dissemble; mask (hide under a false appearance)

dissimulate (hide (feelings) from other people)

masquerade (take part in a masquerade)

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

Sentence frames:

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

Sentence example:

They disguise themselves

Derivation:

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

disguise (any attire that modifies the appearance in order to conceal the wearer's identity)

 Context examples 

But she could not lie, and she could not disguise the truth from herself.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I could not disguise from myself, or from the waiter, that this was an uncomfortable coincidence, and inquired how it was done.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I will not disguise from you that there are difficulties and dangers.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The ring, Adele, is in my breeches-pocket, under the disguise of a sovereign: but I mean soon to change it to a ring again.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Her feminine perception, however, had instantly seen through the disguise when, on the occasion of the interpreter’s visit, she had seen him for the first time.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Even a wife’s eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He owns it himself without disguise.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Fanny looked on and listened, not unamused to observe the selfishness which, more or less disguised, seemed to govern them all, and wondering how it would end.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

He has frequently conversed with me on mine, which I have communicated to him without disguise.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The pleasures which I made haste to seek in my disguise were, as I have said, undignified; I would scarce use a harder term.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)