masquerade

/ˌmæskəˈɹeɪd/

//ˌmæskəˈɹeɪd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"masquerade" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“masquerade” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,209. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,209
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An assembly or party of people wearing (usually elaborate or fanciful) masks and costumes, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-masquerade · masquerade · English

masquerade · rank #27,209 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,209
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH materialism

Nearest frequency peer: materialism (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “masquerade”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “masquerade” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for masquerade
PropertyValue
Headwordmasquerade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌmæskəˈɹeɪd/
Letters10
Frequency rank#27,209
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “masquerade”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).masqueradelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “materialism” (#27,210), “Maitland” (#27,207), “Maude” (#27,211). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “masquerade” is #27,209. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around masquerade (IPA /ˌmæskəˈɹeɪd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,209 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for masquerade, with forms such as "amsquerade", "maqsuerade", and "masqeurade". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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… The correct English form is masquerade, spelled M-A-S-Q-U-E-R-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An assembly or party of people wearing (usually elaborate or fanciful) masks and costumes, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions.
  2. 2
    The act of wearing a mask or dressing up in a costume for, or as if for, a masquerade ball.
  3. 3
    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. 4
    An assembly of varied, often fanciful, things.
  5. 5
    A cosplay event at which costumed attendees perform skits.
  6. 6
    A dramatic performance by actors in masks; a mask or masque.
  7. 7
    A Spanish entertainment or military exercise in which squadrons of horses charge at each other, the riders fighting with bucklers and canes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how masquerade appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I was invited to the masquerade party at their home.
  2. What guards the purity of melting Maids, / In courtly Balls and midnight Maſquerades, / Safe from the treach'rous friend, and daring ſpark, / The glance by day, the whiſper in the dark; / [...] / 'Tis but their Sylph, the wiſe Celeſtials know, / Tho' Honour is the word with Men below.

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.

This word in other languages

mascarada(Español)bal masqué(Français)Maskerade(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amsquerade
  • maqsuerade
  • masqeurade
  • masqquerade
  • masquearde
  • masqueradde
  • masqueraed
  • masquerdae
  • masquerrade
  • masqureade
  • massquerade
  • masuqerade
  • mmasquerade
  • msaquerade

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of masquerade - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

amsquerade2maqsuerade2masqeurade2masqquerade1masquearde2masqueradde1masqueraed2masquerdae2
Edit distance from "masquerade"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "masquerade"?
"masquerade" is spelled M-A-S-Q-U-E-R-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmæskəˈɹeɪd/.
What does "masquerade" mean?
As a noun, "masquerade" means: An assembly or party of people wearing (usually elaborate or fanciful) masks and costumes, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions.
What are common misspellings of "masquerade"?
Common misspellings include "amsquerade", "maqsuerade", "masqeurade", "masqquerade", "masquearde". The correct spelling is "masquerade".
How do you pronounce "masquerade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "masquerade" is /ˌmæskəˈɹeɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "masquerade"?
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 L... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "masquerade", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

liturgical#27,199motherland#27,223narcissism#27,229incendiary#27,178

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

lubricant14 variantsobservant14 variantsinsistent14 variantsperplexed14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list