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
Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Bias masquerades as opinion, with no guidance and no intent to help.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Big Think, 27 Nov. 2025
Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media.
—Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for masquerade
Noun
After entering the venue, ticket holders are fitted for a masquerade mask and given a glass of champagne before they’re thrust into the action.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Bias masquerades as opinion, with no guidance and no intent to help.
—Johnny C. Taylor Jr, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Verb
Today’s online environment intensifies this effect, allowing a small number of loud or coordinated voices to masquerade as true consensus.
—Big Think, 27 Nov. 2025
Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media.
—Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for masquerade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masquerade
Noun
-
Set the scene At a cobblestoned intersection in the Tribeca North Historic District, an industrialist red brick facade gives way to eight floors of ethereal Art Deco interior design straight out of the South of France.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Apr. 2026
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Future plans include repurposing the building’s former drive-thru lane into an outdoor cafe and adding new jellyfish murals to its front facade.—
Phillip Valys,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The invader is a skillful art restorer, Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), who’s been hired by Julian’s greedy children, Barnaby (James Corden) and Sallie (Jessica Gunning), to work, or pose, as their father’s new assistant.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Juvenile great whites typically pose little danger to humans, but have been known to bite defensively when hooked.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Maybe the pretense was comforting to him, too.—
Cassandra Neyenesch,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
-
As architectural fashion has shifted, the software is no longer associated with complex geometry, and the pretense that digital tools might liberate architects—spurring them to new heights of creativity—has faded.—
Julian Rose,
Artforum,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Thus ensnared in a fiction of his making, the narrator takes his phone out and pretends to press Record.—
Giles Harvey,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
And in Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Hurt played one of the New York socialites who falls into the web of deceit created by a charismatic young man (Will Smith) pretending to be the son of Sidney Poitier.—
Chris Koseluk,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
It’s directed by Linus O’Brien, the son of Richard O’Brien, the British New Zealander who wrote the show (and played Riff Raff) and then went on a gender odyssey.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
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Its top show was Cuomo, which averaged 289,000 viewers, up 65%, and 45,000 among adults 25-54, up 114%.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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These schemes may involve entirely fraudulent organizations or individuals impersonating legitimate nonprofits in order to collect donations and personal information.—
Roxanne Downer,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The Internal Revenue Service is alerting taxpayers once again that crooks have no trouble impersonating the IRS by email and text and direct messages.—
Susan Tompor,
Freep.com,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In its many guises, idolatry has survived, despite regular and often cataclysmic proof of its dangers, for centuries and many people will consider a much-larger-than-life golden statue of a president to be perfectly splendid.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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The Department of the Treasury last Thursday designated Hayat Yolu as a key player in a covert global network that uses the guise of humanitarian aid to raise money overseas.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Teachers act as mandatory reporters, Aubele added.—
Ricky Sayer,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
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Still, Checchi and Harman saw each other as the main opponent and their strategists acted — and tailored their advertising and campaign messaging — accordingly.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masquerade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masquerade. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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