masquerade

 
Pronunciation: /ˌmɑːskəˈreɪd, ˌmas-/

noun

  • a false show or pretence: I doubt he could have kept up the masquerade for long
  • [mass noun] the wearing of disguise: dressing up, role playing, and masquerade
  • chiefly North American a masked ball.

verb

[no object]
  • pretend to be someone one is not: a journalist masquerading as a man in distress
  • be disguised or passed off as something else: idle gossip that masquerades as news

Derivatives

masquerader

noun

Origin:

late 16th century: from French mascarade, from Italian mascherata, from maschera 'mask'

Spelling help

Remember that masquerade has -quer- in the middle.