false front
Americannoun
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a façade falsifying the size, finish, or importance of a building, especially one having a humble purpose or cheap construction.
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any deceptive appearance.
He hid his great shyness behind a false front of aggressiveness.
Etymology
Origin of false front
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90
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.
In one scene, the girls meet up at a bar to chat about their day, but he’s shown us that they’re both putting up a false front.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
He’d pull out his false front tooth to show the result of a collision with a crossbar to amuse his three daughters at the kitchen table.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
They are feeling the exhaustion of having to keep up a false front.
From Salon ● May 3, 2023
And then his wedge to the 16th came up just short enough to catch the false front and tumbled back into the fairway.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 10, 2023
He snatched the camellias from Jean Louise and pinned them to her shoulder, glaring sternly at her false front.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
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.
