false front

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR false front ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a façade falsifying the size, finish, or importance of a building, especially one having a humble purpose or cheap construction.

any deceptive appearance: He hid his great shyness behind a false front of aggressiveness.

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RELATED WORDS

disguise, display, front, guise, image, mask, sham, veneer

Nearby words

false diverticulum, false dragonhead, false face, false flag, false friend, false front, false fruit, false hellebore, false hematuria, false hermaphroditism, false horizon

Origin of false front

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for false front

The next day they ran up a false-front with a tower at either side.
The Corner House Girls at School|Grace Brooks Hill
Red Oak slept all day behind the drab, sun-bleached, false-front buildings on both sides of the only road.
The Lone Ranger Rides|Fran Striker
The schools, farms, grain elevators, and false-front business buildings are common to the entire Midwest.
North Dakota|Various