I. cam ‧ ou ‧ flage 1 /ˈkæməflɑːʒ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Language: French ; Origin: camoufler 'to change the appearance of' , from Italian camuffare ]
1 . [uncountable] a way of hiding something, especially soldiers and military equipment, by using paint, leaves etc to make it look like the things around it:
soldiers learning camouflage technique
the camouflage netting over the tanks
2 . [uncountable] the type of green and brown clothes, paint etc that soldiers wear to make themselves more difficult to see:
The men were dressed in camouflage and carrying automatic weapons.
camouflage trousers
3 . [singular, uncountable] the way that the colour or shape of an animal protects it by making it difficult to see in the area in which it lives:
The whiteness of the arctic fox acts as camouflage, hiding it from its enemies.
4 . [singular, uncountable] behaviour that is designed to hide something
camouflage for
Aggression is often a camouflage for insecurity.
II. camouflage 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to hide something, especially by making it look the same as the things around it, or by making it seem like something else
camouflage something with something
I saw a truck, heavily camouflaged with netting and branches.
The strain she was under was well camouflaged by skilful make-up.
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THESAURUS
▪ hide to make something difficult to see or find, or to not show your true feelings:
He hid the gun in his pocket.
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She tried to hide her anger.
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The actress put up a hand to hide her face from the cameras.
▪ conceal formal to hide something, especially by carefully putting it somewhere. Also used when talking about hiding your feelings, especially in negative sentences:
Several kilos of drugs were concealed in the back of the truck.
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He could not conceal his feelings any longer.
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The girl quickly concealed the photograph she had been gazing at.
▪ cover up to put something over another thing that you do not want people to see, in order to hide it completely:
People cover up cracks with wallpaper or tiles.
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I used some make-up to cover up the spots.
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She was wearing a thin shawl to cover up the bruises on her arm.
▪ disguise to make someone or something seem like a different person or thing, so that other people cannot recognize them:
She managed to get into the camp by disguising herself as a soldier.
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The men had disguised the vessel as fishing boat.
▪ camouflage to hide something by covering it with materials that make it look like the things around it:
We camouflaged the plane by covering it with leaves.
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The troops used charcoal to camouflage their faces.
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Soldiers had camouflaged the trucks with branches and dirt.
▪ obscure literary to make it difficult to see something clearly:
The view was obscured by mist.
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His body was found, partially obscured by bushes, at the bottom of a shallow canyon.
▪ mask to make something less noticeable, for example a taste, a smell, a sound, or a feeling:
The lemon helps to mask the taste of the fish.
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Helen had turned on the radio to mask the noise of the traffic.
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He did little to mask his contempt.