charade
charade Lexical Profile
charade Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An absurd pretense or deceptive act intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance.
"Everyone at the meeting knew that the cordial negotiation was merely a polite charade."
A parlor game (usually in the plural, 'charades') in which players pantomime a word or phrase, often syllable by syllable, for others to guess.
"After dinner, the family gathered in the living room to play a lively game of charades."
Word Nuance & Usage
Pronunciation varies significantly by region: American English typically favors /ʃəˈreɪd/ (rhyming with 'parade'), whereas British English traditionally favors /ʃəˈrɑːd/ (rhyming with 'facade'). When referring to the parlor guessing game, the word is almost exclusively used in the plural form 'charades', though it takes a singular verb.
• Rhymes for charade
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 18th century from French 'charade', which derives from Provençal 'charrado' meaning 'long talk or chatter', from 'charrar' ('to chatter or gossip').