facade
Americannoun
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Architecture.
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the front of a building, especially an imposing or decorative one.
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any side of a building facing a public way or space and finished accordingly.
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a superficial appearance or illusion of something.
They managed somehow to maintain a facade of wealth.
noun
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the face of a building, esp the main front
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a front or outer appearance, esp a deceptive one
Usage
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.
Etymology
Origin of facade
First recorded in 1650–60; from French, from Upper Italian faciada, Italian facciata, equivalent to facci(a) face + -ata -ade 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Brats” is very much so “about the public facade of friendship,” notes McCarthy.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
The remaining facade of the building is now in a state of "ongoing and uncontrolled collapse", according to the city council.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
Only the facade of the building at the corner of Gordon Street and Union Street is left standing.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026
For the latter half of samurai history, armor was a facade, a largely symbolic display of authority for an archetypal military class whose members became bureaucrats and eventually pop-culture icons.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
She turned back to her own painting, on a much newer concrete facade adjacent to the old brick building from which Papa Acevedo’s face stared out.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
