mascarade

masquerade

noun mas-kah-RAD Rare

Origin: from Italian mascarata

Also means

farce

Usage Note

Mascarade originally referred to a festive masked procession, but in modern French its primary sense is figurative: a sham or hollow pretence, as in ce procès est une mascarade ('this trial is a farce'). The related word masque means 'mask'.

Examples

"Cette négociation n'est qu'une mascarade."

Natural Translation

This negotiation is nothing but a farce.

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