masquerade

[ mas-kuh-reyd ]

/ ˌmæs kəˈreɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR masquerade ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a party, dance, or other festive gathering of persons wearing masks and other disguises, and often elegant, historical, or fantastic costumes.

a costume or disguise worn at such a gathering.

false outward show; façade; pretense: a hypocrite's masquerade of virtue.

activity, existence, etc., under false pretenses: a rich man's masquerade as a beggar.

verb (used without object), mas·quer·ad·ed, mas·quer·ad·ing.

to go about under false pretenses or a false character; assume the character of; give oneself out to be: to masquerade as a former Russian count.

to disguise oneself.

to take part in a masquerade.

Nearby words

Origin of masquerade

1580–90; earlier masquerada, mascarado, pseudo-Spanish forms of Middle French mascarade < Upper Italian mascherada; see mask, -ade¹

SYNONYMS FOR masquerade

1. mummery.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR masquerade ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsmas·quer·ad·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for masquerade

It builds to a masquerade ball, in which Not Harry and the women don masks and commence flirting.
You Really Don't Want to Watch Fox’s ‘I Wanna Marry “Harry”’|Jason Lynch|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They masquerade as intellectual contests, but are really just showcases for rhetorical cleverness and public charisma.
My Debate With an ‘Intelligent Design’ Theorist|Karl W. Giberson|April 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was supposed to come back to “masquerade the relationship,” but no such luck.
Vegan Strippers Let It All Hang Out|Kelly Williams Brown|March 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He escorts her to masquerade parties, takes her sailing on his yacht, force-feeds her oysters.
Speed Read: 12 Naughty Bits From ‘50 Shades Darker’|Lizzie Crocker|May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST

And it says something depressing about our country that it is permitted to masquerade as the former.
The Freedom to Be Fat? The Politics of Movie Popcorn, Obama, and the FDA|Michael Tomasky|April 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She also came to a masquerade at the Temple, in the costume of a City lady.
Old and New London|Walter Thornbury
Which means that you must carry on the masquerade till then?
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
The Recess was not a masquerade, but the plot and characters slightly picture the reign of Elizabeth.
Woman's Work in English Fiction|Clara Helen Whitmore
"I masquerade as Sir Hubert Pine," retorted the millionaire, slipping off the stone to sprawl full-length on the grass.
Red Money|Fergus Hume
"So this going about as a mountebank is only a masquerade," she said, with a touch of scorn.
The Belovd Vagabond|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for masquerade

masquerade

/ (ˌmæskəˈreɪd) /

noun

a party or other gathering to which the guests wear masks and costumes

the disguise worn at such a function

a pretence or disguise

verb (intr)

to participate in a masquerade; disguise oneself

to dissemble

Derived Formsmasquerader, noun

Word Origin for masquerade

C16: from Spanish mascarada, from mascara mask

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for masquerade

masquerade

1590s, "assembly of people wearing masks and disguises," from French mascarade or Spanish mascarada "masked party or dance," from Italian mascarata "a ball at which masks are worn," variant of mascherata "masquerade," from maschera (see mask (n.)). Figurative sense of "false outward show" is from 1670s.

masquerade

1650s, from masquerade (n.). Related: Masqueraded; masquerading.

masquerade

noun

verb (used without object), mas·quer·ad·ed, mas·quer·ad·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of masquerade

Examples from the Web for masquerade

masquerade

noun

verb (intr)

Word Origin for masquerade

masquerade

masquerade