unmask
[uhn-mask, -mahsk]
- to strip a mask or disguise from.
- to reveal the true character of; disclose; expose.
- Military. to reveal the presence of (guns) by firing.
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- to put off one's mask; appear in true nature.
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Origin of unmask
masked
[maskt, mahskt]
- using or wearing a mask or masks: a masked burglar; masked actors.
- disguised; concealed; hidden: masked treachery; masked forces.
- Botany. personate2(def 1).
- Zoology. having markings that resemble a mask.
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Origin of masked
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for unmasked
Contemporary Examples
The question audiences of Queen of the Night will face is whether they want to be unmasked and, ultimately, to be seen.
Interactive Play ‘Queen of the Night’ Opens at Restored Diamond Horseshoe ClubBrian Spitulnik
December 31, 2013
Bold satirical initiatives have unmasked hypocrisy, corruption, and brutality in dictatorships across the world.
Zawahiri says the “true faces of Iran and Hezbollah have been unmasked” by their opposition to al Qaeda in Syria and Iraq.
The hacker group Anonymous said it unmasked the author of an offensive Twitter parody account of school shooter Adam Lanza.
Terrorists are unlikely to sign up for pre-screening programs and should be unmasked if the program is operating properly.
Historical Examples
They had apparently not been there long, for they had not yet unmasked.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
If you refuse, at the end of five minutes the police will have unmasked you!'
A Nest of SpiesPierre Souvestre
Every one was by this unmasked, and eagerly looking to hear what had occurred.
Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon, Volume 2 (of 2)Charles Lever
"He knows we have unmasked his lure," Anita put in smilingly.
The Cuban's lip curled with contempt at the ease with which he had unmasked Stuart.
Plotting in Pirate SeasFrancis Rolt-Wheeler
masked
- disguised or covered by or as if by a mask
- botany another word for personate 2
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unmask
- to remove (the mask or disguise) from (someone or oneself)
- to appear or cause to appear in true character
- (tr) military to make evident the presence of (weapons), either by firing or by the removal of camouflage, etc
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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 unmasked
unmask
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
masked
(măskt)- Latent or hidden, as a symptom or disease.
- Having masklike markings on the head or face.
- Having the anatomy of the next developmental form outlined beneath the integument, as in certain insect pupae.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.