facade

Or fa·çade

[fuh-sahd, fa-]

noun

1. Architecture.

   1. the front of a building, especially an imposing or decorative one.

   2. any side of a building facing a public way or space and finished accordingly.

2. a superficial appearance or illusion of something.

   They managed somehow to maintain a facade of wealth.

façade

/ fəˈsɑːd, fæ- /

noun

1. the face of a building, esp the main front

2. a front or outer appearance, esp a deceptive one

Word History and Origins

Origin of facade¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from French, from Upper Italian faciada, Italian facciata, equivalent to facci(a) face + -ata -ade ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of facade¹

C17: from French, from Italian facciata , from faccia _face

Example Sentences

In the east of the city, where rescue workers were clearing debris, AFP reporters saw multi-storey buildings with dozens of windows and balconies blown out, their facades charred.

Read more on Barron's

The fee money was bound to run out, he said, and nonprofits “don’t have the budgets to keep absorbing the extra work. And soon the facade will crack.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Echoing language used by Moscow, he added that various NGOs and foundations had used that as a facade for meddling in other countries' internal affairs.

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There were places on the facade where a single tile needed to fit in the grout on the wall.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She learned a lot about high-precision concrete, including the chemistry, equipment, mixing process and molding required to make urban benches, lighting and facade paneling.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• color 
• exterior 
• front 
• veneer 

When To Use

What does facade mean?

A facade is the front of a building or a side that faces a public area.Facade is used literally to describe a decorative, showy, or onrate piece of architecture that frames the front of a building, as in The architect who designed this building used a showy facade on it to help it stand out from nearby buildings.A facade is also a superficial appearance or an illusion, which can be literal or figurative. If a movie star wears a dark hoodie and sunglasses so they won’t be recognized by the press, they are wearing a literal facade. If that movie star acts completely different from who they actually are or puts on an alternate personality in order to trick or convince people of something, that is a figurative facade.Example: He continually lied to keep up his facade until the whole thing stumbled out of control.