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masquerade

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mas⋅quer⋅ade

  [mas-kuh-reyd] noun, verb, -ad⋅ed, -ad⋅ing.
Use masquerade in a Sentence
–noun
1. a party, dance, or other festive gathering of persons wearing masks and other disguises, and often elegant, historical, or fantastic costumes.
2. a costume or disguise worn at such a gathering.
3. false outward show; façade; pretense: a hypocrite's masquerade of virtue.
4. activity, existence, etc., under false pretenses: a rich man's masquerade as a beggar.
–verb (used without object)
5. 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.
6. to disguise oneself.
7. to take part in a masquerade.
Origin:
1580–90; earlier masquerada, mascarado, pseudo-Sp forms of MF mascarade < Upper It mascherada; see mask, -ade 1

Related forms:
mas⋅quer⋅ad⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. mummery.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mas·quer·ade   (mās'kə-rād')   
n.  

    1. A costume party at which masks are worn; a masked ball. Also called masque.

    2. A costume for such a party or ball.

    3. A disguise or false outward show; a pretense: a masquerade of humility.

    4. An involved scheme; a charade.

    1. A disguise or false outward show; a pretense: a masquerade of humility.

    2. An involved scheme; a charade.

intr.v.   mas·quer·ad·ed, mas·quer·ad·ing, mas·quer·ades

  1. To wear a mask or disguise, as at a masquerade: She masqueraded as a shepherd.

  2. To go about as if in disguise; have or put on a deceptive appearance: The stowaway masqueraded as a crew member.


[French mascarade, from Italian mascarata, variant of mascherata, from Old Italian maschera, mask; see mask.]
mas'quer·ad'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

masquerade  (n.)
1597, from Fr. mascarade or Sp. mascarada "masked party or dance," from It. mascarata "a ball at which masks are worn," var. of mascherata "masquerade," from maschera (see mask). Fig. sense of "false outward show" is from 1674. The verb is attested from 1692.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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