charade

American  

[shuh-rayd, shuh-rahd] / ʃəˈreɪd, ʃəˈrɑd /

noun

• charades
  plural

1. (used with a singular verb) charades, a game in which the players are typically divided into two teams, members of which take turns at acting out in pantomime a word, phrase, title, etc., which the members of their own team must guess.

2. a word or phrase acted out in this game.

3. a blatant pretense or deception, especially something so full of pretense as to be a travesty.

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charade British  

/ ʃəˈrɑːd /

noun

1. an episode or act in the game of charades

2. an absurd act; travesty

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• charades
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of charade

1770–80; < French < Provençal charrad ( o ) entertainment, equivalent to charr ( á ) to chat, chatter (from imitative root) + -ado -ade ¹

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Explanation

A charade is something done just for show. Your devotion to vegetarianism would be a charade if you actually ate cheeseburgers when no one was looking. When you want things to appear different than they really are, you might be tempted to put on a charade, like a charade of happiness when you are really feeling down. Charade is also the name for a silently-acted clue in the game called Charades — which originally wasn't silent. It used indirect descriptions of the words.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

charade charades

The charade will help Stewart close a business deal and make him the favored Whitfield to take over the family’s real-estate empire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

What we have now is a shallow affair and it’s not fair to you that the charade continue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

But the not-working group had been functioning quite well, at least as a charade for delay and obfuscation.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2026

Ex-Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, now in exile, described the process as a charade which generated "fabricated" results.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026

“What’s in it for me?” he whispered back, his arms wrapping around me in what was probably the most awkward and weird hug of my life as he kept up the bizarre charade.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Instead, they take turns to silently perform a series of moves and poses that look, to the untrained eye, as if they are playing charades or, as they writhe on the ground, breakdancing.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Over five hours, the families competed in 12 events spanning from Jenga to charades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

"We divided attendees into groom and bride's teams and organised games like charades and guessing who the relative is from a stereotype," said CEO Anurag Pandey.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025

Writer and performer Sandra Tsing Loh had the honors Sunday, and she gamely followed the script’s instructions as though presiding over an evening of charades that an oracle had dreamed up in advance.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2025

Then we played a bunch of cheesy party games like charades and Monopoly.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

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Related Words

• deception
• farce
• travesty

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