MEANING
An outward appearance or form, especially one that conceals what something really is.
Use it for
contrasting an activity’s appearance with its underlying purpose; describing a familiar idea in a new form; showing an action presented as something more acceptable; identifying a misleading pretextDistinguishes an outward form or pretext from underlying identity, while allowing a neutral change of presentation. Writing functions: Analysis / Interpretation, Criticism, Comparison / Contrast.
Words that belong together
- under the guise of reform
- in a different guise
- assume the guise of
On the page
The same exclusion returned in the guise of a supposedly neutral eligibility rule.
The novel revives an old moral dilemma in a technological guise.
Word forms
- Base
- guise
Usage notes
Noun: guise; plural guises. Frequent patterns: in a new guise, in the guise of, under the guise of. Register: formal. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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