different between pretence vs masquerade

English

Alternative forms

• pretense (American spelling)
• prætence (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle French pretensse, from Late Latin praet?nsus (past participle of praetend? (“to pretend”), from prae- (“before”) + tend? (“to stretch”)).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?p?i?t?ns/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /p???t?ns/
  • Rhymes: -?ns
• Hyphenation: pre?tence

Noun

pretence (countable and uncountable, plural pretences)

1. (British spelling) An act of pretending or pretension; a false claim or pretext.
   • 1995, Charlie Lewis, Peter Mitchell, Children?s Early Understanding Of Mind: Origins And Development, p.281,

     In pilot work we have used the method described in Experiment 2 on children?s memory for the content of their own false beliefs and pretence and asked them to differentiate between belief and pretence.

   • 2005, Plato, Lesley Brown (translator), Sophist, 231b.

     That part of education that turned up in the latest phase of our argument, the cross-examination of the empty pretence of wisdom, is none other, we must declare, than the true-blooded kind of sophistry.

2. Something asserted or alleged on slight evidence; an unwarranted assumption.
3. (obsolete) Intention; design.

Translations

English

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Middle French mascarade, masquarade, masquerade (modern French mascarade (“masquerade, masque; farce”)), and its etymon Italian mascherata (“masquerade”), from maschera (“mask”) + -ata. Maschera is derived from Medieval Latin masca (“mask”): see further there. The English word is cognate with Late Latin masquarata, Portuguese mascarada, Spanish mascarada.

The verb is derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?mæsk???e?d/, /?mæsk???e?d/, /?m??s-/, /?m??s-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?mæsk???e?d/, /?mæsk???e?d/
• Rhymes: -e?d
• Hyphenation: mas?que?rade

Noun

masquerade (plural masquerades) (also attributively)

1. An assembly or party of people wearing (usually elaborate or fanciful) masks and costumes, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions.

   Synonym: (obsolete) masque
2. The act of wearing a mask or dressing up in a costume for, or as if for, a masquerade ball.
3. (figuratively) An act of living under false pretenses; a concealment of something by a false or unreal show; a disguise, a pretence; also, a pretentious display.
4. (figuratively) An assembly of varied, often fanciful, things.
5. (fandom slang) A cosplay event at which costumed attendees perform skits.
6. (obsolete) A dramatic performance by actors in masks; a mask or masque.
7. (obsolete, rare) A Spanish entertainment or military exercise in which squadrons of horses charge at each other, the riders fighting with bucklers and canes.

Alternative forms

• mascarade
• maskerade (archaic)

Derived terms

• masqueradish

Related terms

• mask
• masque
• masqueradingly

Translations

See also

• costume party

Verb

masquerade (third-person singular simple present masquerades, present participle masquerading, simple past and past participle masqueraded)

1. (intransitive) To take part in a masquerade; to assemble in masks and costumes; (loosely) to wear a disguise.
2. (intransitive, figuratively) To pass off as a different person or a person with qualities that one does not possess; also, to make a pretentious show of being what one is not.
3. (transitive, rare) To conceal (someone) with, or as if with, a mask; to disguise.

Derived terms

• masquerader
• masquerading (noun)

Translations

References

Further reading

• masquerade ball on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• masquerade (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia