window dressing

window dressing
noun
Synonyms of window dressing
1
: the display of merchandise in a retail store window
2
a
: the act or an instance of making something appear deceptively attractive or favorable
POTEMKIN VLLAGE

b
: something used to create a deceptively favorable or attractive impression
window-dress ;win-d;-;dres  transitive verb
window dresser noun

Synonyms of window dressing
Relevance
facade
Examples of window dressing in a Sentence
These changes are being made for a good reason. They're not just window dressing.
the crime-does-not-pay moralizing is just window dressing for nasty hard-boiled stories
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The adaptation retains traces of its literary roots—there are multiple nods to Nabokov, including a bakery named after Charlotte Haze, Lolita’s mother—but its bookishness is mostly window dressing.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026
For years, the large-scale cannabis industry has treated aroma like window dressing — something nice to have, but not exactly essential.
—Sara Payan, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2026
Skeptics may claim this as window dressing for strategic global ambitions.
—Kerry E. Ratigan, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2026
Against Seattle, Shanahan’s trademark pre-snap window dressing meant absolutely nothing.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026

Word History
First Known Use
1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of window dressing was in 1850
See more words from the same year