Advertisement

Advertisement

Potemkin village

or Po·tem·kin Vil·lage

[ poh-tem-kin vil-ij, puh ]

noun

  1. a pretentiously showy or imposing façade intended to mask or divert attention from an embarrassing or shabby fact or condition.


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of Potemkin village1

1935–40; after Prince Potëmkin ( def ), who allegedly had villages of cardboard constructed for Catherine II's visit to the Ukraine and the Crimea in 1787
Discover More

Example Sentences

It's as Potemkin Village-ish a piece of journalistic writing as I've seen in a long time.

The lobbyist-journalist-politician scandal has dynamited the Potemkin village that is Indian journalism.

It was a Potemkin Village of technology, camera-ready but a long way short of leaving the ground.

For years, critics scoffed at Amazon.com and Jeff Bezos, dismissing the online retailer as an Information Age Potemkin Village.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Potëmkinpotence