Potëmkin
noun
Prince Grigori Aleksandrovich 1739–91, Russian statesman and favorite of Catherine II.
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Potëmkin
American
[poh-tem-kin, puh-, puh-tyawm-kyin]
/ poʊˈtɛm kɪn, pə-, pʌˈtjɔm kjɪn /
noun
Potemkin
British
/ paˈtjɔmkin, pɒˈtɛmkɪn /
noun
-
Grigori Aleksandrovich (ɡriˈɡɔrij alɪkˈsandrəvitʃ). 1739–91, Russian soldier and statesman; lover of Catherine II, whose favourite he remained until his death, and who is reputed to have erected sham villages along the route of the Empress's 1787 tour of the Crimea
-
apparently impressive but actually sham or artificial
North Korea's Potemkin hospital
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.
Buskers perform on the city's famous Potemkin Stairs, while sunbathers barely flinch as the sirens sound and explosions rumble in the distance.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
They are the world’s most expensive decorations — a clean-energy Potemkin village stretched across the provinces.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 21, 2026
The opening sequence, titled “Men and Maggots,” describes the life of sailors aboard the Potemkin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
It is only Potemkin objectivity: empty, unconvincing, and ultimately wielded in service of something awful.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2024
It was itching to talk about how pleased I was with Ms. W. and the stories she gave me, and reading Alexandra Potemkin and the Space Shuttle to Planet Z most of all.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
