mask
Forms
- Plural
- masks
- present (v1)
- mask
- past (v2)
- masked
- past participle (v3)
- masked
- present participle
- masking
- 3rd person singular
- masks
Definitions
1.A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection.
2.That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge.
- Grouchy and wary and tender, he’s a sozzled hedonist seemingly out for himself, though his party-animal facade is just a mask for his bottomless generosity.
3.Appearance, likeness.
4.A festive entertainment of dancing or other diversions, where all wear masks; a masquerade.
- This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask.
1.To disguise as something else.
2.To conceal from view or knowledge; to cover; to hide.
- Many autistic people have language and cognitive skills; [and] they mask their autism, cover up social discomfort, and work hard to be someone they are not, so people often see them as “fitting in” just fine.
3.To conceal; also, to intervene in the line of.
4.To cover (the face or something else), in order to conceal the identity or protect against injury; to cover with a mask or visor.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3341
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French masque (“a covering to hide or protect the face”), from Italian maschera (“mask, disguise”), from (a byform of, see it for more) Medieval Latin masca, mascha, a borrowing of Proto-West Germanic *maskā, from which English mesh and mask (“mesh”) (below at Etymology 2) are inherited. Doublet of mascara, masque, and mesh.