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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have unmaskedperfect
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has unmaskedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been unmaskingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am unmaskingprogressive 1st person singular
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unmaskingparticiple
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have been unmaskingperfect progressive
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unmaskssingular 3rd person
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is unmaskingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are unmaskingprogressive
Past
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had unmaskedperfect
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was unmaskingprogressive singular
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had been unmaskingperfect progressive
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unmaskedparticiple
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were unmaskingprogressive plural
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unmaskedsimple
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.
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
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
Now, even though she has the wallet address of the criminals, there is nothing anyone can do to unmask them.
From BBC • Jan. 18, 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
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.
