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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Origin of window dressing

First recorded in 1780–90

Words nearby window dressing

window back, window blind, window board, window box, window dresser, window dressing, window envelope, windowglass shell, windowing, windowless monad, windowlight

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

How to use window dressing in a sentence

The city tried addressing that by hosting community workshops to collect input in October 2019 – but with ahead of a December Council hearing, it struck many as window dressing, not a genuine opportunity to provide feedback.
Entrepreneurs Want Room to Grow Their Businesses Beyond San Diego’s Sidewalks|Andrea Lopez-Villafaña|November 29, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Of course, there’s a chance this could all be window dressing given how often brand purpose tends to look like propaganda.
‘There are no more excuses’: Advertisers try to overcome the fallacy of ethical media buying|Seb Joseph|April 23, 2021|Digiday
It’s pulp—very good pulp—and its modest achievement is making heroes out of characters too often reduced to window dressing.
The 5 Best New Shows Our TV Critic Watched in March 2021|Judy Berman|March 31, 2021|Time
One thing we’ve observed is that a remarkable amount of video is just audio with window dressing.
Descript raises $30M to build the next generation of video and audio editing tools|Ingrid Lunden|January 12, 2021|TechCrunch

The interior video shows the gunman firing the shot through the window.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I fall back into a dream and then suddenly there is a tapping on the window just above my bed.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In fact, these kinds of advances helped give religion another huge window of opportunity for racial reconciliation in the 1960s.
No Gods, No Cops, No Masters|James Poulos|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He once experimented with dressing as “Hilda the Wicked Witch” as a way to expand his business to Halloween.
Kerry Bentivolio: The Congressman Who Believes in Santa Claus|Ben Jacobs|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The incident sparked his belief in Santa, but he would have to wait nearly two decades before dressing up as Jolly St. Nick.
Kerry Bentivolio: The Congressman Who Believes in Santa Claus|Ben Jacobs|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But at the instant I caught a sight of my counterfeit presentment in a shop window, and veiled my haughty crest.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
She had listened—she had listened intently, looking straight out of the window and without moving.
Confidence|Henry James
The east window in this church has been classed as the A1 of modern painted windows.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
The clerks had not arrived yet, and he beguiled the time by looking out of the staircase window.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens

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