masked

1. 1
   adjective

   Wearing a mask or masks, especially as a covering over the face.

   Two masked figures waited by the gate in the dark.

   The protesters arrived masked to avoid being identified by cameras.

   Similardisguised, hooded, veiled

   Oppositeunmasked, maskless

   Note

   Recent usage often puts the word after a verb, as a state that can be required. Stephanie Elizalde's 2021 order that Austin students "must be masked" is about protection, not disguise. That makes it a matter of health rules as much as of costume. Its opposites are unmasked and maskless. Both can describe a face left bare, but unmasked can also suggest a disguise removed.

2. 2
   adjective

   Concealed or hidden from notice.

   His friendly manner hid a masked resentment toward his rivals.

   The auditors uncovered masked costs buried deep in the contract.

   Similarhidden, concealed, disguised, veiled, covert

   Oppositeopen, overt, obvious

3. 3
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of mask.

   A wall of trees masked the house from passing cars.

   The sauce masked the bitterness of the overcooked vegetables.

   Note

   A regular -ed form doing two jobs. It is the simple past (the trees masked the house) and, after have or be, the participle (the house was masked by trees). Nearly every sense of the verb takes an object, so passives come easily. The exception is the masquerade sense, taking part as a masker, which needs no object. Placed before a noun, the participle drifts toward the "hidden" adjective.

4. 4
   adjective

   Marked by the wearing or use of masks, as in a masquerade.

   The masked carnival filled the narrow streets with color and music.

   Guests received invitations to a masked gala honoring the new mayor.

5. 5
   adjective

   Of a corolla, having two lips whose opening is closed by a raised palate, as in the snapdragon.

   The masked corolla of toadflax shields its nectar from all but the strongest bees.

   Gardeners prize the masked flowers of snapdragons for their tight, lip-like form.

   Note

   A botanist's plain-English equivalent of personate. Both describe a two-lipped corolla whose throat is shut by a raised palate on the lower lip, so the flower seems to wear its own mask. Snapdragon and toadflax are the standard cases. In technical descriptions the two terms are interchangeable. Masked is the friendlier choice for general readers, and personate is the one a flora key is more likely to use.

6. 6
   adjective

   Of a bird, having the front of the head sharply different in color from the rest of the plumage.

   The masked shrike is named for the dark band across its eyes and forehead.

   Birdwatchers identified the masked booby by its sharply outlined facial coloring.

   Note

   An ornithologist's term, used only of birds. It fixes the contrast at the front of the head, the face and forehead, set off sharply from the rest of the plumage. That is why it turns up in common names such as the masked shrike, masked booby and masked lapwing. In each the bird is named for the marking, the way a person might be named for a mask.

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