masquerade: Meaning and Definition of

mas•quer•ade

Pronunciation: (mas"ku-rād'), [key]
— n., v., -ad•ed, -ad•ing.
—n.
  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.
—v.i.
  1. 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.
  2. to disguise oneself.
  3. to take part in a masquerade.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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