as in shows
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 masquerades
Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Noun
The gala will conclude with rousing Cameroon and Nigerian masquerades by the Odenigbo Group.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for masquerades
Noun
-
Britpop music and binging prestige TV shows.—
Edward McKinnon,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Wild and kitschy shows followed with opening fetes dedicated to colorful subjects including Andy Warhol, circus clowns, and Canadian television creators and puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft.—
Lina Lecaro,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Snowboarder Chloe Kim of the United States poses for a photo during a Team USA Photo Shoot at Sunset Glenoaks Studios on May 21, 2025 in Sun Valley, California.—
Michelle Bruton,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Bulletin board member Steve Fetter stated that the rise of ‘unregulated AI tools’ poses a big threat to human survival in the present times.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Populism in all its guises surfaces problems but rarely solves them.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
-
Bad actors can take on all kinds of guises—including pretending to be lawyers.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
When an escaped Eleven finds her way to a diner (the image of a bald Brown in a hospital gown shoving fries into her mouth is indelible), Brenner’s team impersonates social services, kills the kind proprietor, but fails to apprehend her.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Dec. 2025
-
The scam impersonates Walmart and claims someone has made an expensive PS5 order through the user’s account.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Just a few blocks away, however, neighborhoods like Jalatlaco feel noticeably quieter, with residential streets, cobblestones, and colorful facades.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Jan. 2026
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For the first time, thanks to Kent, trees were planted next to the facades of buildings.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The human therapist pretends to be a client.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
-
By March, the city pretends the interruption never happened.—
Alexandra Martinez,
Artforum,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Toronto might be considered the New York City of Canada, but Bo Bichette is under no pretenses that playing for the Blue Jays is comparable to playing for one of the baseball teams in the Big Apple.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
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Aurora Municipal Court Judge Brian Whitney issued an order last year pausing more than 300 cases in which attorneys challenged issues under the same pretenses as those before the Supreme Court.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As Cuenca plays a ball to the feet of his striker, Wilson dashes in the other direction, delaying Ibrahima Konate’s forward jump because the centre-back knows Bradley is unable to track both him and Robinson at the same time.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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In the dark romantic comedy-drama, True Blood alum Skarsgård, 49, plays tough biker Ray, who enters into a dominant-submissive relationship with Colin (Melling), a shy and directionless man who sings in a barbershop quartet.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Masquerades.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/masquerades. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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