guise

¹

[ gahyz ]

noun

1. general external appearance; aspect; semblance:

   an old principle in a new guise.

   Synonyms: shape, form

2. assumed appearance or mere semblance:

   under the guise of friendship.

3. style of dress:

   in the guise of a shepherd.

4. Archaic. manner; mode.

verb (used with object)

, guised, guis·ing.

1. to dress; attire:

   children guised as cowboys.

verb (used without object)

, guised, guis·ing.

1. Scot. and North England. to appear or go in disguise.

Guise

²

[ geez ]

noun

1. Fran·çois de Lor·raine [f, r, ah, n, -, swa, d, uh, law-, ren], 2nd Duc de, 1519–63, French general and statesman.
2. his son Hen·ri I de Lorraine [ah, n, -, ree], Duc de, 1550–88, French general and leader of opposition to the Huguenots.

guise

/ ɡaɪz /

noun

1. semblance or pretence

   under the guise of friendship

2. external appearance in general
3. archaic.
   manner or style of dress
4. obsolete.
   customary behaviour or manner

verb

1. dialect.
   to disguise or be disguised in fancy dress
2. archaic.
   tr to dress or dress up

Word History and Origins

Origin of guise¹

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English g ( u ) ise < Old French < Germanic; wise ²: (v.) Middle English gisen, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of guise¹

C13: from Old French guise, of Germanic origin; see wise ²

Synonym Study

See appearance.

Example Sentences

All three candidates lost — Lamm received just 13,000 votes — bringing an end to what Pope described as the first modern battle to bring white supremacy into mainstream America under the guise of environmentalism.

From Salon

“It was one of the first times he’d done an interview not in a guise and I was struck by quietly still he is in his eyes, how he listens, but also what he says about what those guises are and how he feels at his most comfortable when he’s playing someone else,” Redmayne says.

From Los Angeles Times

For the next 90 minutes, the man instructed Mrs Campbell to shuffle different sums of money between these accounts – and also into a separate Western Union account - watching the transactions go through using screen share, all under the guise of helping her.

From BBC

He’d been egged on throughout the year by a coterie of far-right influencers and yes-men who openly dreamed of fostering an outlet friendly to formerly banned manosphere types, rabid conspiracists, and neo-Nazis, under the guise of “free-speech absolutism.”

From Slate

They will do what they’re put on the court to do: promote the Republican Party’s interests under the guise of judicial review.

From Slate

Related Words

• disguise