as in facade
a display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive
although she was deeply bored, she maintained a masquerade of polite interest as her guest droned on
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Recent Examples of masquerade
Beck Harlan, NPR, 30 Aug. 2025
Well here's my opinion, Trump is masquerading as a human being.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 22 Aug. 2025
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2025
Organizers call it the largest pop culture convention in Northern California, featuring special celebrity guests, artists and exhibitors, panels and workshops and the always-popular cosplay masquerade.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for masquerade
Noun
Questions like these are often relationship challenges masquerading as money challenges.
—Beck Harlan, NPR, 30 Aug. 2025
Well here's my opinion, Trump is masquerading as a human being.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
With set designs channeling movie theaters and masquerade balls, the mega-star worked through hits from each era of her career.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2025
Organizers call it the largest pop culture convention in Northern California, featuring special celebrity guests, artists and exhibitors, panels and workshops and the always-popular cosplay masquerade.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for masquerade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masquerade
Noun
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The Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido, a 1908 Moorish fantasy commissioned by entrepreneur Nicolò Spada, boasts Byzantine domes and an eclectic façade that have sheltered everyone from Winston Churchill to Erroll Flynn, from Greta Garbo to Clark Gable.—
Jenn Rice,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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The industry groups also dismissed Shein’s partnership with French retailer Pimkie as a facade to provide legitimacy to the Chinese giant.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Performers milled around the crowd, dancing, delivering short monologues and posing in specific formations to cast their shadows just so.—
Anika Reed,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
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Queens alumni took to social media Tuesday to pose questions about what the change means and call for Queens students and alumni to have a seat at the table.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Harold is so clearly not a great man that his pretenses feel more like cries for help.—
Jeremy Gordon,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Trump’s decision to resurrect the name Department of War strips away that pretense.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The study saw parents use actions to joke and pretend with kids aged 16 to 20 months old.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The eligibility dates for the 2024 Emmy Awards apply to shows that aired between June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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My weekend streaming guide is live, so be sure to check that out for some new show and movie ideas.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The account that had impersonated him, after blowing up on @joma_gc, deactivated and removed all of its information from the page.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
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Hortman was killed alongside her husband in their Brooklyn Park home by a man allegedly impersonating a police officer.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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All this reintroduces the problem of arbitrary outcomes, in a different guise.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
9 Sep. 2025
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Unfortunately a recent deep fake has come in the guise of a friend.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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By turning a blind eye to scalpers, even giving them the tools to bypass limits and harvest tickets, Live Nation has acted as the promoter, the primary ticket seller, the artists’ manager, and the scalper.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
19 Sep. 2025
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Each has talked up and acted upon the notion that universities’ illiberal and often hypocritical approaches to issues concerning free speech and antisemitism need to change.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Masquerade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masquerade. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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