guises

plural of guise
1
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

4

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 Throughout the weekend, Dudamel embraced the worlds of Hollywood, Latin music in many guises and old-fashioned rock. — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 With their traditional, legacy rivals — the Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur — in various guises of transition, Arsenal are suddenly the team to beat and the Emirates is suddenly a library of sound; noise please. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 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 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 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
Noun
  • During the Soviet era, these monumental decorative panels appeared at metro stations, sports stadiums, school facades, and on the sides of residential blocks.
    — Yulia Denisyuk, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Isaias peeled off hotel and condominium rooftops and facades along the Florida Panhandle before charging north Saturday, dishing out torrential rains and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes across the Southeast.
    — Emilie Megnien, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • For Alex, this led to a decades-long collaboration, designing sets and costumes for the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
    — Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2026
  • However, her annual 31 days of churning out Halloween costumes appears to have come to an end.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Police fired tear gas and water cannons to push back people wearing hoods and masks and throwing fireworks, paving stones and other objects at officers in the Place de la République, northeast of the Paris city center.
    — SYLVIE CORBET, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • In the southern port city of Marseille, some protesters briefly forced their way into the lobby of City Hall and a group of people wearing hoods and masks damaged a police station.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Atlanta reached the Finals for the first time since 2013 and after losing in its previous three appearances in the championship round, will be trying for their first as well.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • As temperatures drop in the fall, aphids, like other garden pests, are less active, but don’t be fooled by appearances.
    — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Conference expansion has shattered pretenses to regional coherence.
    — Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The strategic mistake of invading Iraq on false pretenses was then compounded by tactical errors.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Guests have serious style credentials—from billowy silk Kalita dresses to bodycon Cult Gaia numbers, nothing seems too glam for this place.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Elaborate veils and rigid dress codes gradually gave way to more personal expressions of grief, while black dresses and tailoring became enduring wardrobe staples.
    — Livia Caligor, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • More than historical curiosities, such stories reveal how elaborate disguises can become necessary as a means of survival in a world that denies people the freedom to be themselves — both historically and today.
    — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Despite disguises, they were recognized by a man outside, who raised the alarm.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The women wore maroon unitards with subtle puffed sleeves, while Danchig-Waring’s tank unitard featured two faces in profile, each hugging a side of his waist.
    — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Lake Mead and Lake Powell are the visible faces of the Southwest’s critical water problem, as the Colorado River — which supplies water to nearly 40 million people — shrinks due to a combination of climate change and human demand.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Guises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guises. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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