masking

[mas-king, mah-sking]

noun

1. backing.

2. Psychology.,  obscuring, partially or completely, one sensory process by another, as the dulling of the sense of taste by smoking.

masking

/ ˈmɑːskɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or practice of masking

2. psychol the process by which a stimulus (usually visual or auditory) is obscured by the presence of another almost simultaneous stimulus

Other Word Forms

• unmasking adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of masking¹

First recorded in 1920–25; mask + -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Illicit oil has been moved on a so-called shadow fleet of tankers outside of Western oversight, and crude can then be transferred at sea, ship to ship, masking a cargo’s origin.

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For kids who cope by masking, constantly deciphering and mimicking social responses is often cognitively and emotionally exhausting.

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The diagnostic definition of autism has evolved over the years and now includes children who cope by “masking”: consciously or unconsciously suppressing autistic traits in order to fit in at school or in social environments.

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The Cooleys gradually weaned Tyrell off his medications, feeling that the pills were fueling some of the wild behavior and masking problems that were better dealt with in talk therapy.

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The fog masking the direction of the American economy and future of the artificial-intelligence boom is starting to lift.

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Related Words

• cloak 
• disguise 
• mask 
• veil