window dressing

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See synonyms for window dressing on Thesaurus.com

noun

the art, act, or technique of trimming the display windows of a store.

misrepresentation of something, so as to give a favorable impression: The company's list of assets included a great deal of window dressing.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of window dressing

First recorded in 1780–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use window dressing in a sentence

To her it was just empty window dressing that would do little practical good for Lou.
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address|Ray Robinson|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But as enjoyable as this sort of literary trainspotting can be, I also consider it window dressing.
‘True Detective’ Finale Review: Close to Perfection|Andrew Romano|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And it was in the same decade that the idea of window dressing as a career first intrigued Hoey.
Tales of a Bergdorf Goodman Window Dresser|Erin Cunningham|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Netanyahu's party primaries denied him centrist window-dressing (i.e., Dan Meridor).
What Went Wrong For Netanyahu|Bernard Avishai|January 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The action scenes, to me, just seem like macho window dressing around this central source of paranoia.
‘Taken 2’s’ Crazy Sexual Politics!|Tracy Quan|October 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I realize that the question was window-dressing, but my answer is quite serious.
The Syndic|C.M. Kornbluth
Perhaps those disks are only window dressing, and they can work without them.
Storm Over Warlock|Andre Norton
But he was determined to run on the platform, and for him, he later said, a platform was not a window dressing.
Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965|Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.
On window-dressing days he was up and down the street half the morning.
Mrs. Thompson|William Babington Maxwell
This present show of examining them was what he called legal window-dressing.
The Trial of Callista Blake|Edgar Pangborn

British Dictionary definitions for window dressing

window-dressing

noun

the ornamentation of shop windows, designed to attract customers

the pleasant, showy, or false aspect of an idea, policy, etc, which is stressed to conceal the real or unpleasant nature; façade

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

window dressing

Origin of window dressing

Words related to window dressing

How to use window dressing in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for window dressing