act vs masquerade

act

noun
  • A display of behaviour meant to deceive. 

  • A product of a legislative body, a statute. 

  • A display of behaviour. 

  • A division of a theatrical performance. 

  • Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work. 

  • Any organized activity. 

  • A performer or performers in a show. 

  • A formal or official record of something done. 

  • The process of doing something. 

  • A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student. 

  • Something done, a deed. 

verb
  • Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly). 

  • To perform a theatrical role. 

  • To play (a role). 

  • To convey an appearance of being. 

  • To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of). 

  • To feign. 

  • To do something. 

  • To have an effect (on). 

  • To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time. 

  • To do something that causes a change binding on the doer. 

masquerade

noun
  • An act of living under false pretenses; a concealment of something by a false or unreal show; a disguise, a pretence; also, a pretentious display. 

  • The act of wearing a mask or dressing up in a costume for, or as if for, a masquerade ball. 

  • An assembly of varied, often fanciful, things. 

  • An assembly or party of people wearing (usually elaborate or fanciful) masks and costumes, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions. 

  • A cosplay event at which costumed attendees perform skits. 

verb
  • To conceal (someone) with, or as if with, a mask; to disguise. 

  • To take part in a masquerade; to assemble in masks and costumes; (loosely) to wear a disguise. 

  • To pass off as a different person or a person with qualities that one does not possess; also, to make a pretentious show of being what one is not. 

How often have the words act and masquerade occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )