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

At UC, protest rules have been revamped with bans on encampments, masking to hide identity while breaking the law, and student government boycotts of Israel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Easy financial conditions are “masking, not arresting” softening in the U.S. economy, including job creation, she warned.

Read more on Barron's

Ms Parker said she was always a joker in school and now believes that was a way of masking to blend in with others.

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A national shortage is going to add together San Francisco and Detroit, masking the extremes of both.

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Campus groups, including pro-Israel faculty and students, have also accused police of leniency in enforcing masking policies.

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Related Words

• cloak 
• disguise 
• mask 
• veil