guises

noun

plural of guise
1
as in facades
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive he allowed himself to dine at fine restaurants all over the world under the guise of research for his book on international cuisine

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2
as in costumes
clothing chosen as appropriate for a specific situation she felt as though she should be wearing some sort of Germanic guise, complete with dirndl, for the fall festival featuring traditional German food and drink

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3
as in masks
clothing put on to hide one's true identity or imitate someone or something else he sneaked into the castle to rescue Ivanhoe in the guise of a priest coming to give Ivanhoe his last rites

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4
as in appearances
outward and often deceptive indication hazing rituals may have the guise of harmless fun, but often the reality is serious physical abuse

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of guises Somewhere between a sandal and a ballet flat, caged silhouettes come in all manner of guises. — Sarah Leigh Bannerman, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2026 Footballing success, in differing guises, came a long time ago. — Adam Leventhal, New York Times, 10 June 2026 Opponents of affirmative action, who suspect that the process is still continuing under other guises, could seek to replicate the winning strategy of the Harvard and UNC cases, if testing data show large, unexplainable gaps in academic preparation among different student groups. — Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026 Dwayne Johnson is a confident guy and has donned any number of ridiculous guises during his Saturday Night Live hosting gigs over the years. — Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 28 May 2026 Berenger, a character who appears in different guises in several of his plays, is Ionesco’s version of Everyman. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026 Over the years, audiences have seen the Negotiator under many guises, like a martial arts expert, a cowboy, and even a mariachi musician. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026 Farage has been through various guises. — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 8 May 2026 By the time my story about him was published in the November 2023 issue of Vanity Fair, Aryeh Dodelson, and all of his guises, had disappeared from the face of the earth. — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guises
  1. facades
  2. costumes
  3. masks
  4. appearances
  5. pretenses
  6. dresses
  7. disguises
  8. faces
Noun
  • The old silver and gold shops, their facades blackened by time, were gone.
    — Lina Sergie Attar, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
  • This was once one of the principal streets used by Tallinn’s wealthy merchants and remains lined with former guild buildings and elaborate historic facades.
    — David Nikel, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of facades
Noun
  • The battle of Karbala is known to every school Shia child in Iraq and Iran – re-enacted every year by participants in period costumes – often with horses and camels.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026
  • LARPing, or live-action role-playing, might conjure up visions of Dungeons & Dragons costumes and renaissance fairs.
    — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of costumes
Noun
  • Five hours later, when the psilocybin began to wear off, the vets removed their eye masks and found the heat of the afternoon sun.
    — Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • For a next-level project, wrap strips around cardboard or Styrofoam to make dolls or masks.
    — Michelle Crouch, Parents, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of masks
Noun
  • In 515 plate appearances, Ketel Marte has hit 21 long balls, tallied 67 RBIs and scored 64 runs.
    — Data Skrive, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • But with his shaky return from arthroscopic elbow surgery leading to three blown saves in four appearances, the crowd tempered its enthusiasm appropriately.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of appearances
Noun
  • Johnson created the story of Nancy (Emilia Jones), who is not a girlfriend, but a crush who Bourdain foolhardily (and under false pretenses) follows to Provincetown after not getting a writing fellowship.
    — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Trimpey also faces a felony charge of obtaining money by false pretenses.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of pretenses
Noun
  • And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wears dresses and blouses embroidered by Indigenous artisans to honor their textile traditions.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • As for the colorful accents by their side, the couple’s 12 bridesmaids all wore dresses in shades of green.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of dresses
Noun
  • Artificial intelligence disguises itself as human, attempts to dupe a web developer and mounts a malicious cyberattack -- all on its own.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Tracy Daryl Mingo is accused of wearing various disguises while robbing metro Atlanta Circle Ks, Subways, and Family Dollars.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of disguises
Noun
  • There are a lot of new faces; some old, familiar faces are nowhere to be found; and some of those that did return have new jobs.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Some diligently blur out the faces of guests who are in the vicinity and captured on camera.
    — Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of faces

Browse Nearby Words

guise
guises
guitarist
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Cite this Entry

“Guises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guises. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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