- [countable, uncountable] something that you wear or use to change your appearance so that people do not recognize you
- She wore glasses and a wig as a disguise.
- in disguise The star travelled in disguise (= wearing a disguise).
Extra ExamplesTopics Clothes and Fashionb2- She adopted an elaborate disguise to help her pass through the town unrecognized.
- The girl in the park turned out to be a policewoman in disguise.
- We all saw through his disguise immediately.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- clever
- good
- thin
- …
- adopt
- don
- put on
- …
- in disguise
- [uncountable] the art of changing your appearance so that people do not recognize you
- He is a master of disguise.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- clever
- good
- thin
- …
- adopt
- don
- put on
- …
- in disguise
- [countable, uncountable] a way of hiding the true nature of something
- His angelic look is just a disguise.
- State regulation often served as a thin disguise for corruption.
- in disguise Her books can be history lessons in disguise.
Word OriginMiddle English (meaning ‘change one's usual style of dress’, with no implication of concealing one's identity): from Old French desguisier.
Idioms
See disguise in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee disguise in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englisha blessing in disguise
- something that seems to be a problem at first, but that has good results in the end
- Losing your job might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
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disguise