Definition

1. Verb:
   • To disguise oneself as, to masquerade as: To pretend to be someone or something else, often with deceptive or malicious intent. This involves concealing one's true identity or nature behind a false appearance.
   • To use as a cover, to operate under the guise of: To employ a particular role, identity, or cause as a deceptive facade for one's actual, usually negative, activities or intentions.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hắn đội lốt một nhà từ thiện để lừa gạt mọi người. (He masqueraded as a philanthropist to deceive people.)
  • Tổ chức đó hoạt động đội lốt một công ty hợp pháp. (That organization operates under the guise of a legitimate company.)
  • Kẻ gián điệp đã đội lốt một phóng viên. (The spy disguised himself as a journalist.)

Advanced Usage

• "đội lốt... để...": to masquerade as... in order to...

  • Chúng đội lốt nhân viên bảo vệ để đột nhập. (They disguised themselves as security guards in order to break in.)

• Often used in formal or literary contexts to describe serious deception, hypocrisy, or covert operations. It carries a strong negative connotation.

Variants and Related Words

• Cải trang (verb): to disguise, to camouflage (more neutral, can be for entertainment or survival, not necessarily with malicious intent).
• Ngụy trang (verb): to camouflage, to conceal (often used in military or natural contexts).
• Lốt (noun): skin, hide, shell (often of an animal); metaphorically, a false exterior or disguise.

Synonyms

• Giả dạng: to impersonate, to pose as.
• Ẩn mình dưới vỏ bọc: to hide under the cover of.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Đội lốt... dưới danh nghĩa...: to masquerade as... under the name of...
  • Bọn tội phạm đội lốt doanh nhân dưới danh nghĩa đầu tư. (The criminals masquerade as businessmen under the name of investment.)

Related Idioms

• "Cáo mượn oai hùm" (A fox borrowing the tiger's fierceness): An idiom describing a weak person borrowing the authority or reputation of a powerful one to intimidate others. This shares the thematic concept of deception found in "đội lốt".

1. Use as a cloak, under the cloak of
   • Đội lốt tôn giáo
     Under the cloak of religion