charade B2 Topic:General Vocabulary US /ʃəˈreɪd/ UK /ʃəˈrɑːd/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun an absurd pretense intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance The negotiations were a mere charade to delay the process. 2 noun a game in which players guess a word or phrase from a pantomimed clue We played charades at the party, acting out movie titles. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an absurd pretense intended... facadepretenseshammasqueradeguise 2 noun · a game in which players... pantomimemimeguessing game ↔ Opposites realitysincerity Word family Forms charades Etymology AI details From French charade (18th c., 'a kind of riddle or word puzzle'), adopted into English as 'a word game' and, by extension, 'a pretense'. Topics General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # charade **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ʃəˈreɪd/ **IPA (UK):** /ʃəˈrɑːd/ ## Meanings 1. an absurd pretense intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance 2. a game in which players guess a word or phrase from a pantomimed clue ## Examples - The negotiations were a mere charade to delay the process. - We played charades at the party, acting out movie titles. ## Synonyms - facade - pretense - sham - masquerade - guise - pantomime - mime - guessing game ## Antonyms - reality - sincerity ## Etymology From French charade (18th c., 'a kind of riddle or word puzzle'), adopted into English as 'a word game' and, by extension, 'a pretense'. ## AI Etymology Charade comes from French charade (18th c., 'a kind of riddle or word puzzle'), adopted into English as 'a word game' and, by extension, 'a pretense'. In current use it is a noun meaning "an absurd pretense intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The semantic development is therefore important as well as the form: the word moves from the older concrete, technical, or literal setting into the present figurative or specialized sense. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown