Definition of CHARADE

charade

Meanings

Plural: charades

Noun

  • a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way
  • a word acted out in an episode of the game of charades
  • A genre of riddles where the clues to the answer are descriptions or puns on its syllables, with a final clue to the whole.
  • A single round of the game charades, an acted form of the earlier riddles.
  • A play resembling the game charades, particularly due to poor acting.
  • A deception or pretense, originally an absurdly obvious one but now in general use.
  • A form of wordplay where several words are placed together to form a new word or part thereof.

Verb

  • To act out a charade (of); to gesture; to pretend.

Origin / Etymology

From French charade, charrade (“prattle, idle conversation; a kind of riddle”), probably from Occitan charrada (“conversation; chatter”), from charrar (“to chat; to chatter”) + -ada. As a round of the game, originally a clipping of acting charade but now usually understood and formed as a back-formation from charades.

Synonyms

acted charade, burlesque, dumb charade, farce, lampoon, mockery, parody, pasquinade, put-on, sendup, sham, spoof, takeoff, travesty

Scrabble Score: 13

charade is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
charade is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
charade is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

charade is a valid Words With Friends word