Disguise means to change your appearance or hide your identity so others won't recognize you. When you disguise yourself, you might wear a costume, a mask, fake glasses, or different clothes to look like someone else or to blend into a crowd. Spies use disguises to move around without being noticed. In stories, heroes sometimes disguise themselves as villains to sneak into secret hideouts.

The word can also apply to objects or feelings. You might disguise a bitter medicine by mixing it with honey, hiding the bad taste. Someone might disguise their nervousness by acting extra confident, or disguise their disappointment with a forced smile.

A disguise works when it's convincing enough that people don't see through it. A flimsy disguise, like just putting on sunglasses, probably won't fool anyone who knows you well. But a clever disguise requires thinking about details: how you walk, talk, and act, not just what you wear.

The phrase a blessing in disguise describes something that seems bad at first but turns out to be good. Getting sick and missing the class trip might seem terrible until you learn the bus broke down and everyone got stuck in the rain for hours.