1. Literally, to disguise oneself as someone or something; to dress in apparel meant to look like someone or something else. I love seeing all the kids on Halloween masquerading as ghouls, goblins, and cartoon characters.

2. To pretend to be someone or something that one is not; to posture as someone or something. It's clear now that the candidate has just been masquerading as a common, working-class citizen to gain more votes across the county. She masqueraded as a legitimate journalist before it was discovered that she had plagiarized most of her work.