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
  • 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
  • Set the scene The Pinch sits on King Street’s popular north-south artery of clothing shops, wine bars, palm trees, and decorative facades.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • When the costumes come off, viewers can see if the romance can survive the shift to reality.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Americans are expected to spend more than $13 billion dollars on celebrating this season, whether that's on horror films, costumes, candy or attractions, according to the National Retail Federation.
    — Ayesha Rascoe, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Dozens of protesters, many of them young, dressed in black and wearing masks, threw rocks and firecrackers at police at the central Brussels railway station, before setting several fires, one to a pile of city bikes and electric scooters.
    — Mark Carlson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Dozens of protesters, most of them young and dressed in black with masks over their faces, were seen throwing rocks and firecrackers at police at the central Brussels railway station, The Associated Press reported.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Morissette has been spotted making other surprise appearances this summer.
    — Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The 16,900-capacity arena, also home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, has hosted the Dream’s playoff appearances this season.
    — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 10 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
  • Ortega has kept other platform Louboutin designs on rotation, like the Christian Louboutin Cassia Satin Pumps, the Rosalie Alta Sandals and the Nenecheritza MM Sandals to pair with her long skirts, dresses or wide-legged trousers.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Bustiers, romantic tops, dresses and elevated separates should also resonate, alongside occasionwear that brings a fresh perspective to glamour through texture, movement and color.
    — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 14 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
  • And [the American Girl brand] encouraged me to really open it up to new faces and new characters in order to launch her as an adult and show that this is a different time and a different age.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Similar to the Apple Watch, the HomeView also has a variety of different faces for displaying information based on the users’ preferences, like calendars, photos and weather data.
    — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Guises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guises. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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