mas·quer·ade / ˌmaskəˈrād/ • n. a false show or pretense: his masquerade ended when he was arrested. ∎  the wearing of disguise: dressing up, role-playing, and masquerade. ∎  a masked ball.• v. [intr.] pretend to be someone one is not: a journalist masquerading as a man in distress. ∎  be disguised or passed off as something else: the idle gossip that masquerades as news in some local papers.DERIVATIVES: mas·quer·ad·er n.

masquerade masked ball. XVI. First in quasi- Sp. forms mascarado, masquerada (see -ADO), later superseded by mascarade, and (with assim. to MASQUE) masquerade; — F. mascarade — It. mascherata or Sp. mascarada, f. maschera, máscara MASK; see -ADE.

Masquerade ★★★ 1988 (R)

A lonely young heiress meets a handsome “nobody” with a mysterious background and it is love at first sight. The romance distresses everyone in the circle of the elite because they assume that he is after her money and not her love. At first it seems decidedly so, then definitely not, and then nothing is certain. A real romantic thriller, with wonderful scenes of the Hamptons. 91m/C VHS, DVD . Rob Lowe, Meg Tilly, John Glover, Kim Cattrall, Doug Savant, Dana Delany, Eric Holland; D: Bob Swaim; W: Dick Wolf; C: David Watkin; M: John Barry.

masquerade The resemblance of an organism to some inanimate object in its environment so that it remains effectively 'hidden' from predators. Many insects have evolved particular shapes and colours so they resemble leaves, twigs, or other features of their natural surroundings, making it difficult for predators to detect them visually. For example, some larvae look like bird droppings, certain butterflies have very leaflike wings, while stick insects fully live up to their name. See also camouflage.