masking
/ˈmæskɪŋ/
CommonHiding or suppressing your true personality, feelings, or neurodivergent traits to fit in socially.
Originates in autism and ADHD communities where it describes a specific survival behavior. Online use has broadened it to general people-pleasing or hiding emotions. Some find the expanded use diluting; others find it useful.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | I've been masking all day and I am absolutely exhausted | The person spent the day suppressing their real self and needs to decompress. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 02 | realized I've been masking my whole life and I don't even know who I actually am anymore | Reflecting on a long pattern of hiding one's true self. | tumblr, 2023 |
| 03 | my friends think I'm chill but I'm literally masking every second I'm around people | What looks like calm is actually active performance. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | one of the best things about my dog is I don't have to mask | Around the dog, no performance is required. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- Describing the effort of performing neurotypicality when neurodivergent.
- Hiding your actual emotional state to appear fine.
- Suppressing personality traits to avoid judgment.
- Talking about the exhaustion of performing normalcy.
Do not use it when
- You just mean someone is being fake or insincere.Use “fronting” instead.
- You mean literally wearing a face mask.
Masking vs people-pleasing
masking
Masking is about hiding who you are to fit in.
VS
people-pleasing
People-pleasing is about adjusting your behavior to avoid conflict or gain approval.
Origin and context
Clinical and community term from autism research and advocacy, describing the phenomenon of camouflaging autistic traits to appear neurotypical. Moved into broader online mental health discourse around 2020.
- First seen
- 2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/maskingUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0