From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishguiseguise /ɡaɪz/ noun [countable] formalHIDE/NOT SHOW the way someone or something appears to be, which hides the truth or is only temporaryin/under the guise of something They operated a drug-smuggling business under the guise of an employment agency. It’s the same idea in a different guise.
Examples from the Corpus
guise• Some rumours, he says, have survived for centuries, merely by mutating and reappearing in a different guise.• Joanne Tearle finds that the blue chip loan comes in many guises and choosing one may be your greatest problem.• But the approach itself is never questioned, so the abuses simply resurface later in a new guise.• He may also appear in the guise of a small grey water-horse or a lamb, always with an unusually long tail.• Gods whose ways co-existed with farming and nature now functioned all the better in the guise of saints.• Quietly, under the guise of equipment problems, he tried four weeks, then five.• For the rest he has persisted in wearing the guise of a vassal before his overlord.in/under the guise of something• Third, price discrimination may appear in the guise of loyalty bonuses, rebates, and discounts.• Firstly, he arrived in the guise of a brewery representative come to check the electrics.• Eat a clove of garlic in the bathroom in the guise of brushing your teeth.• Gods whose ways co-existed with farming and nature now functioned all the better in the guise of saints.• In Britain the merging together of the banking and securities business in the guise of financial conglomerates has rekindled this debate.• The four reporters passed the checkpoints in the guise of U.S. soldiers.• She stirs up antagonism, bullying members of other departments in the guise of working on my behalf.• The dinner guest arrived early and came marching into the kitchen to inspect the proceedings, under the guise of offering assistance.Origin guise (1300-1400) Old French 