Masquerade
[,mɑːskə'reɪd;,mæs-] or [,mæskə'red]
Definition
(noun.) making a false outward show; 'a beggar's masquerade of wealth'.
(noun.) a party of guests wearing costumes and masks.
(verb.) pretend to be someone or something that you are not; 'he is masquerading as an expert on the internet'; 'This silly novel is masquerading as a serious historical treaty'.
(verb.) take part in a masquerade.
Checker: Roy--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) An assembly of persons wearing masks, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions.
(n.) A dramatic performance by actors in masks; a mask. See 1st Mask, 4.
(n.) Acting or living under false pretenses; concealment of something by a false or unreal show; pretentious show; disguise.
(n.) A Spanish diversion on horseback.
(v. i.) To assemble in masks; to take part in a masquerade.
(v. i.) To frolic or disport in disquise; to make a pretentious show of being what one is not.
(v. t.) To conceal with masks; to disguise.
Inputed by Deborah
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Mask, revel, piece of mummery.
Typed by Joan
Definition
n. an assembly of persons wearing masks generally at a ball: disguise.—v.i. to wear a mask: to join in a masquerade: to go in disguise.—n. Masquerad′er a person wearing a mask: a person or thing disguised in any manner.
Inputed by Juana
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of attending a masquerade, denotes that you will indulge in foolish and harmful pleasures to the neglect of business and domestic duties. For a young woman to dream that she participates in a masquerade, denotes that she will be deceived.
Editor: Lorna
Examples
- Within two months of this masquerade he was dead. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- This imperfect companionship, and our masquerade of union, are strangely dear to me. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- We know what a masquerade all development is, and what effective shapes may be disguised in helpless embryos. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Does anybody mean to go to Elliston's masquerade? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Did you see me play the methodist parson, in a tub, at Mrs. Beaumont's masquerade last Thursday? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Stultze brought home our dresses himself in his tilbury, on the morning of the masquerade, being anxious that we should do him credit. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Dear Lord Fife, said another, we want to go to Elliston's masquerade. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- In countries where masquerades are common, it is a trade to let out masquerade dresses for a night. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- He then continued his speech,--Yes, gentlemen, you shall have more masquerades! Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- The first two, I need hardly remark, are the same who masqueraded as the Russian count and his son, so we can give a very full description of them. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- After all, I have some right to be angry, considering how you masqueraded as a count in England. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
Checker: Lorrie