facade

noun fa·cade \ fə-ˈsäd \

variants: or less commonly façade

Updated on: 23 May 2018

Definition of facade

1 : the front of a building; also : any face of a building given special architectural treatment

a museum's east facade

2 : a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect

tried to preserve the facade of a happy marriage

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Examples of facade in a Sentence

"I mean, don't you find yourself being extra careful about what you say and how you say it? As if you have to be this phony, put on a facade, because you don't want to give them the wrong impression?" —Terry McMillan, Waiting to Exhale, 1992
When I watched him in motion picture roles after the war, I knew there was something of honest substance behind that acting façade. —Andrew A. Rooney, And More by Andy Rooney, (1979) 1982
… but his magic power of concentration was gone. All the façades he built up between himself and his desperate love never entirely hid it. —May Sarton, Shadow of a Man, 1950
the facade of the bank
the windowless façade of the skyscraper
They were trying to preserve the facade of a happy marriage.
I could sense the hostility lurking behind her polite facade.

Recent Examples of facade from the Web

The Beaux-Arts building, known for its distinctive clock tower and a facade made from more than 250,000 terra-cotta tiles, was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White.

— ryan ori, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago billionaire to buy Wrigley Building for $255 million," 18 May 2018
The project would add three new terraces showing views such as Powell Street’s cable cars and include a new glass facade and other renovations, the company said.

— wendy lee, San Francisco Chronicle, "Westfield mall in San Francisco plans to add office space," 17 May 2018
Once that work is complete, STARRS hopes to have enough money to restore the slate roof exterior, then work down and build a brick facade along the outside walls, Herbig said.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Purchase a model of Aberdeen's historic B&O train station to support restoration," 11 May 2018
Williams-Tsien has designed an off-white brick facade with a big bay window looking out toward the Dartmouth Green.

— cate mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "A New Hampshire art museum faces the future," 10 May 2018
The driver of a pickup plowed through bushes and the brick facade of a Sharpstown-area home early Sunday to land in a front room.

— alyson ward, Houston Chronicle, "Truck plows into front of Sharpstown home," 6 May 2018
The city also plans to look at improvements to the crosswalks on the boulevard and offer competitive facade grants to the business owners, said Akron Planning Director Jason Segedy.

— jennifer conn, akron reporter, cleveland.com, "Kenmore Boulevard revitalization underway through zoning updates, infrastructure improvements," 30 Apr. 2018
The 1,190-square-foot rancher sports a simple facade and bright, spacious interiors, creating a comfortable and cozy home.

— lauren ro, Curbed, "Adorable midcentury home gets update, wants $329K," 24 Apr. 2018
Twenty-one cameras now line Randolph Career and Technical Center's facade and two cameras, adhered to metal detectors, greet each visitor at the entrance.

— allie gross, Detroit Free Press, "Does Detroit's Project Green Light really make the city safer?," 20 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'facade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

A Brief History of facade

Facade is thought to have come to English from the Vulgar Latin facia, meaning “face.” Along the way it passed through both Italian, as faccia, and French, as _façade. The earliest meaning of the word in English was in reference to the front portion of a building, it’s “face,” so to speak (and face itself is sometimes used to describe this part of a structure as well). Somewhere along the way _ facade_ took on a figurative sense, referring to a way of behaving or appearing that gives other people a false idea of your true feelings or situation. This is similar the figurative use of veneer, which originally had the simple meaning of a thin layer of wood that was used to cover something, and now may also refer to a sort of deceptive behavior that masks one’s actual feelings (as in, “he had a thin veneer of politeness”).

Illustration of facade

Origin and Etymology of facade

borrowed from French, going back to Middle French fassade, borrowed from Italian facciata, from faccia "face" (going back to Vulgar Latin *facia) + -ata -ade — more at ¹face

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1681

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year