Camouflage

the act, means, or result of obscuring things to deceive an enemy, as by painting or screening objects so that they are lost to view in the background, or by making up objects that from a distance have the appearance of fortifications, guns, roads, etc.:
Was camouflage used extensively on fighter aircraft during World War I?
concealment by some means that alters or obscures the appearance:
Drab plumage provides the bird with camouflage against predators.
a device or stratagem used for concealment:
His loud laughter is really camouflage for his basic shyness.
Synonyms: mask, blind, front, cover.
clothing made of fabric with a mottled design, usually in shades of green and brown, as that used in military camouflage:
The street vendors are all selling camouflage this week: pants, jackets, T-shirts, even underwear!
(of fabric or clothing) made with or having a mottled design, as that used in military camouflage:
a camouflage T-shirt.
to disguise by means of camouflage:
to camouflage ships by painting them gray.
Synonyms: hide, conceal, mask; deceive, trick, dissimulate, dissemble.
to use camouflage:
The angel shark camouflages in the sand.
Contemporary Examples

I Shot Bin Laden Elliot Ackerman November 15, 2014
The New Republican War Room Lee Siegel March 26, 2010
Ukraine Separatists’ Pro-Putin Raps Oleg Shynkarenko June 22, 2014
Colin Farrell Eyes Return to Hollywood A-List With ‘Total Recall’ Reboot Chris Lee August 2, 2012
Jamie Dimon’s Hubris Unshakable as JPMorgan Reelects Him to Top Two Posts Nomi Prins May 15, 2012

Historical Examples

Stopover Planet Robert E. Gilbert
Government by the Brewers? Adolph Keitel
Inventions of the Great War A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
A Slave is a Slave Henry Beam Piper
Astounding Stories, May, 1931 Various

noun
the exploitation of natural surroundings or artificial aids to conceal or disguise the presence of military units, equipment, etc
(modifier) (of fabric or clothing) having a design of irregular patches of dull colours (such as browns and greens), as used in military camouflage
the means by which animals escape the notice of predators, usually because of a resemblance to their surroundings: includes cryptic and apatetic coloration
a device or expedient designed to conceal or deceive
verb
(transitive) to conceal by camouflage

Since the war started the POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY has published photographs of big British and French field pieces covered with shrubbery, railway trains “painted out” of the landscape, and all kinds of devices to hide the guns, trains, and the roads from the eyes of enemy aircraft.

Until recently there was no one word in any language to explain this war trick. Sometimes a whole paragraph was required to explain this military practice. Hereafter one word, a French word, will save all this needless writing and reading. Camouflage is the new word, and it means “fooling the enemy.” [“Popular Science Monthly,” August 1917]

camouflage
(kām’ə-fläzh’)
Protective coloring or another feature that conceals an animal and enables it to blend into its surroundings. Compare warning coloration.