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charade

[shuh-reyd; especially Brit. shuh-rahd]

noun

charades, (used with a singular verb) a game in which the players are typically divided into two teams, members of which take turns at acting out in pantomime a word, phrase, title, etc., which the members of their own team must guess.

a word or phrase acted out in this game.

a blatant pretense or deception, especially something so full of pretense as to be a travesty.

Origin:
1770–80; < French < Provençal charrad(o) entertainment, equivalent to charr(á) to chat, chatter (from imitative root) + -ado -ade¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To charade

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Charade is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Example Sentences

Charade is not even a word deserving of a connection to this house and this collection.

Mentor, in her infinite wisdom, would abolish the charade of confidentiality.

Amid all the sensationalism, few voices have denounced the charade of family unity for electoral ends.

EXPAND

Charade is not even a word deserving of a connection to this house and this collection.

Mentor, in her infinite wisdom, would abolish the charade of confidentiality.

Amid all the sensationalism, few voices have denounced the charade of family unity for electoral ends.

Jackson said, the bill amounts to nothing but a political charade.

Both countries have to stop the charade that misinforms their own people about what they are doing and why.

Our local community college should be shut down tomorrow so no more money is wasted on the charade.

And many people will wonder about a process that forces a recently elected governor to go through such a charade.

There was, however, a problem: it was all a charade.

Whether his appearance qualifies as a thin charade or an awkward obligation is unclear.

And it is either a game changer or the biggest charade in the history of economics.

So an extended living room serves as a place to enjoy the sun and rain privately without the charade of the wilderness.

But the move must be recognized for the cynical charade it is.

Just call the carbon charade what it always has been: a tax on production.

In other words, our pose of idiosyncratic uniqueness was a big charade.

While this charade continues, a social worker who tries to help the youth becomes the second victim.

Public announcements of such deals are something of a charade.

As an exercise in fiscal responsibility, it is a charade.

It is hard to know how seriously anyone takes this charade.

Luzhkov says that politics is a charade and the business climate corrupt.

It seems to me that this little charade can be used as support for those who see education moving to edutainment.

In other cases, they did not even bother to go through that charade.

The entire charade does not appear to be an honest effort and may never have been".

Better be honest than continue this charade of lies and deception.

We can ill afford to repeat the charade of the last several months.

Adam decides to go along with the charade in hopes of getting the girl of his dreams.

Africans may find this better than our charade of a democracy.

She won the job, but had to quit when her charade was discovered.

The only justice is that both parties to this charade are now losing their bets.

He circles around, charges her again and tries to nip her, but now she's getting bored with the charade and moves away from him.

The charade of democracy will continue until it absolutely groans and falls apart.

Another charade to ensure that the banking industry continues to take almost half of the nation's profits.

Hamas won't touch this nonsensical charade with a barge pole.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

charade (ʃəˈrɑːd)

—n
1.	an episode or act in the game of charades
2.	chiefly (Brit) an absurd act; travesty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

charade

1776, from Fr. charade, from Prov. charrada "long talk, chatter," of obscure origin, perhaps from charrar "to chatter, gossip," of echoic origin. Originally not silent, merely relying on enigmatic descriptions of the words or syllables; the silent form was dumb charades. Welsh siarad obviously is a loan-word

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from Fr. or Eng., but its meaning of "speak, a talk" is closer to the Prov. original.

COLLAPSE

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

charade

originally a kind of riddle, probably invented in France during the 18th century, in which a word or phrase is divined by guessing and combining its different syllables, each of which is described independently by the giver of the charade. Charades may be given in prose or verse. The following is an example of a poetic charade:My first is a Tartar,My second a letter;My all is a country,No Christmas dish better.

Learn more about charade with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Matching Quote

"It might sound a paradoxical thing to say—for surely never has a generation of children occupied more sheer hours of parental time—but the truth is that we neglected you. We allowed you a charade of trivial freedoms in order to avoid making those impositions on you that are in the end both the training ground and proving ground for true independence. We pronounced you strong when you were still weak in order to avoid the struggles with you that would have fed your true strength. We proclaimed you sound when you were foolish in order to avoid taking part in the long, slow, slogging effort that is the only route to genuine maturity of mind and feeling. Thus, it was no small anomaly of your growing up that while you were the most indulged generation, you were also in many ways the most abandoned to your own meager devices by those into whose safe-keeping you had been given."

-Midge Decter

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charade

cha·rade