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mas • quer • ade n., ball or party at which masks and fancy costumes or disguises are worn. As the prom was a masquerade, I was not aware that I was dancing with my sworn enemy.

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sor • did adj., dirty; filthy. The problem with writing about sordid scenes is that one’s own writing quickly becomes depressing and grim.

con • sti • tute vt., make up; be the components or elements of; form; compose. The fifty states together constitute the United States.