Definition of "mummery" [mum•mer•y]

• A performance by mummers. (noun)
• A pretentious or hypocritical show or ceremony. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In fact, the mummery is the chief matter – which is what makes the play so attractive to children, and it may be added, so suitable for their performance."
• "The horse looked about in the thick of the night, as the head of the horse peers out of the cloak, in Welsh mummery, at"
• "The horse looked about in the thick of the night, as the head of the horse peers out of the cloak, in Welsh mummery, at Christmas-tide."