blend in
phrasal verb.phrasal verb. to look or act like the people or things around you so that nobody notices you.
phrasal verb. to be similar to the surrounding environment or group, thereby becoming inconspicuous. Intransitive or used with 'with' to specify the environment.
He wears a plain grey suit to blend in at the office.
The spy tried to blend in with the crowd to avoid being spotted by the guards.
The new housing development was designed with local stone to blend in with the traditional architecture of the village.
- fit in
- go unnoticed
- match
- camouflage
- stand out
- clash
- Particles
- in
- Separability
- inseparable
- Pattern
- blend + in (+ with + object)
often followed by the preposition 'with' when mentioning the group or environment.
contrast with 'stand out' (the direct antonym); use the image of a chameleon to anchor the meaning of physical camouflage versus social conformity.
The building blends in the trees.The building blends in with the trees.when an object is mentioned, the preposition 'with' must follow the particle 'in'.