unmask
Americanverb (used with object)
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to strip a mask or disguise from.
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to reveal the true character of; disclose; expose.
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Military. to reveal the presence of (guns) by firing.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to remove (the mask or disguise) from (someone or oneself)
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to appear or cause to appear in true character
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(tr) military to make evident the presence of (weapons), either by firing or by the removal of camouflage, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unmasksimple
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unmaskssimple
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have unmaskedperfect
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has unmaskedperfect
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am unmaskingprogressive
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are unmaskingprogressive
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is unmaskingprogressive
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have been unmaskingperfect progressive
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has been unmaskingperfect progressive
Past
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unmaskedsimple
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had unmaskedperfect
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was unmaskingprogressive
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were unmaskingprogressive
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had been unmaskingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unmask
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Then he asked Google to unmask three devices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
“Seeing the carve-out, I was immediately really surprised,” said Bridget Lavender, staff attorney at the State Democracy Research Initiative, the nation’s leading expert on the myriad legal efforts to unmask ICE across the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
They want DHS employees, namely ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers, to unmask and wear clear and visible identification.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026
AFP found dozens of posts across social media, in which users shared AI-generated images purporting to "unmask" the agent who shot her.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
In the 1920s, during the Teapot Dome scandal, William had helped unmask the corruption in President Harding’s cabinet.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Meghan Kobza’s “The Masquerade” unmasks the festivities of 18th-century London, where the commercial “middling sort” acquired the numbers and money to emulate the private entertainments of kings and aristocrats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
“But that’s the thing with LADA: It unmasks itself over time.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
The BBC unmasks, for the first time, how the late Nigerian televangelist TB Joshua faked the miracles that drew millions of people to his church.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2024
The song even unmasks the grim realities of undergoing the procedure.
From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2022
In No. VII. we have the scene "How S. Benedict discovers the deceit of Totila," and unmasks the shield-bearer, who, disguised as the King of the Goths, comes to prove the knowledge of the saint.
From Luca Signorelli by Cruttwell, Maud
And while several TikTok users have come forward claiming they created it, the true author as of yet remains unmasked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
The resulting images of the unmasked agent went viral, but identified the wrong individuals.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026
State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, a Democrat who represents Altadena, spoke about her efforts to pass legislation that would force ICE agents to be unmasked and identify themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026
A new map has unmasked the landscape beneath Antarctica's ice in unprecedented detail, something scientists say could greatly enhance our understanding of the frozen white continent.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
Despite its being unmasked by the Soviets, Operation Gold secured Harvey's reputation inside the CIA as one of its wiliest and smartest operatives.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Banksy’s unmasking may affect the logistics behind his art projects as well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
To disrupt that message, West suggests unmasking the obvious fact that the content creators themselves are con artists selling a sham product.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2025
I was unmasking on set and to then portray that on camera was very new to me and difficult to navigate at times.
From BBC ● May 30, 2024
Littlejohn’s unmasking of grotesque tax inequality, by contrast, was an attempt to make the U.S. more democratic, at considerable risk to himself.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2024
Though he still chased bandits on horseback, the work was generally less dangerous; in many cases, it involved unmasking individuals who had filed false claims for reimbursements.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
