guise

noun

ˈgīz 

1

: a form or style of dress : costume

attended the masquerade in the guise of a court jester

2

a

obsolete : manner, fashion

b

archaic : a customary way of speaking or behaving

3

a

: external appearance : semblance

The android is a machine in human guise.

b

: pretext

swindles people under the guise of friendship

c

: a variation on something

the same basic recipe in a different guise

Synonyms of guise

• pretense
• facade
• show
• act
• pose

Examples of guise in a Sentence

he sneaked into the castle to rescue Ivanhoe in the guise of a priest coming to give Ivanhoe his last rites

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Those are the values SB 180 stripped in 2025 — a law that, under the guise of expediting hurricane recovery, suspends local comprehensive planning statewide for three years, reaching well beyond rebuilding, into stormwater management, environmental protection, and recouping the costs of growth. —Haley Busch, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2026

During the partisan press era in the United States, news organizations aligned themselves politically and presented news from a specific partisan point of view, without the guise of objectivity. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026

Then, in the late nineteenth century, the mandolin experienced a second flowering, albeit in a different guise. —Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026

Under some guise of urgency—an unpaid fine or other transgression—the victim would be directed to download an app that closely mimics the institution’s real one. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 7 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gise, guise, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German wīsa manner — more at wise

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing guise

• in the guise of
• under the guise of

Rhymes for guise

• ais
• ayes
• buys
• cries
• dies
• dries
• dyes
• eyes
• flies
• fries
• grise
• guys

Kids Definition

guise

noun

ˈgīz 

1

: a form or style of dress : costume

in the guise of a shepherd

2

: outer or disguised appearance : semblance

swindled people under the guise of friendship

Biographical Definition

Guise 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈgēz 

also ˈgwēz

2nd Duc de 1519–1563 François de Lorraine French soldier and politician

Guise

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

3rd Duc de 1550–1588 Henri I de Lorraine French soldier and politician