guise

1 a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive my new neighbor began seeking my company under the guise of friendship, but he turned out to be a member of a religious cult bent on conversion Synonyms act, airs, charade, disguise, facade (also façade), front, masquerade, playacting, pose, pretense (or pretence), put-on, semblance, showRelated Words impersonation, performance, portrayal; image, persona; appearance, color, gloss; camouflage, cloak; affectation, deceit, deception, dissembling, dissimulation, double-dealing, duplicity, fakery, fraud, guile; betrayal, double cross, faithlessness, falseness, falsity, infidelity, perfidy, treachery, treason, unfaithfulness; excuse, pretextNear Antonyms bluntness, candidness, candor, directness, forthrightness, frankness, openheartedness, outspokenness, plainspokenness, sincerity, straightforwardness; artlessness, genuineness, naïveté (also naivete or naiveté)

2 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 Synonyms costume, drag, dress, garb, getup, outfit, togsRelated Words apparel, attire, clothes, duds, habiliment(s), raiment; fashion, mode, style; array, caparison, vestments

3 clothing put on to hide one's true identity or imitate someone or something else he snuck into the castle to rescue Ivanhoe in the guise of a priest coming to give Ivanhoe his last rites Synonyms camouflage, costume, disguiseRelated Words domino, mask, veil, visor (also vizor), vizard; costumery, dress, getup, outfit, rig; coloring, cosmetic, makeup, paint

4 outward and often deceptive indication hazing rituals may have the guise of harmless fun, but often the reality is serious physical abuse Synonyms face, appearance, name, outward, seeming, semblance, showRelated Words air, effect, impression; hint, implication, insinuation, resemblance, suggestion; affectation, demonstration, display, fiction, image, imitation, imposture, likeness, make-believe (also make-belief), pose, pretense (or pretence), representation, simulation; cloak, disguise, exterior, facade (also façade), front, gloss, mask, masquerade, patina, Potemkin village, shape, shell, surface, veneer