unmasque
unmasque is the archaic spelling of unmask.
Meaning of unmask
Verb
unmask (third-person singular simple present unmasks, present participle unmasking, simple past and past participle unmasked)
- To remove a mask from someone.
- To expose, or reveal the true character of someone.
- The Charieſt maide is prodigall enough, / If ſhe vnmaske hir beautie to the Moone.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell...
- To remove one's mask.
- But instead of a direct answer to so important a question, Jones began to be very importunate with the lady to unmask; and at length having prevailed, there appeared not Mrs Fitzpatrick, but the Lady Bellaston herself.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
- To cease engaging in masking, to cease disguising one's autism.
- […] to unmask and to assume her 'natural' role (rather than her 'fitting in' role).2019, Sarah Cobbe, Simple Autism Strategies for Home and School: Practical Tips, Resources and Poetry, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 49
- To expose something that was concealed or shielded from an enemy.
- He recalled his horse. This, retiring, unmasked the heavy infantry, which Hannibal called in from either flank and sent with a vigorous élan in close column across the ford against the ill-arrayed barbarians, followed by the cavalry, which had formed again in its rear.1893, Theodore Ayrault Dodge, Hannibal: a History of the Art of War Among the Carthaginians and Romans […] , page 156
- To enable (an interrupt, etc.) by unsetting or setting the associated bit.
Forms of unmasque
| third-person singular present | unmasques |
|---|---|
| present participle | unmasquing |
| past participle | unmasqued |
| past | unmasqued |
Origin of unmasque
From un- + masque.
Questions about unmasque
- What is unmasque the archaic spelling of?
- Unmasque is the archaic spelling of unmask.
Words near unmasque in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: unmasque (page history and authors); unmask (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “unmasque.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/unmasque. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
