window dressing

1 of 2

noun (1)

1

: the display of merchandise in a retail store window

2

a

: the act or an instance of making something appear deceptively attractive or favorable

b

: something used to create a deceptively favorable or attractive impression

window-dress

ˈwin-dō-ˌdres 

transitive verb

window dresser noun

window dresser

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: one that arranges merchandise and decorations in a show window

called also window trimmer

2

: one that distorts facts or puts up a front in order to make a favorable impression

value him as one of the greatest window dressers of their party and defenders of its misdeeds

—Nation

Synonyms of window dressing

Noun (1)

• facade

Examples of window dressing in a Sentence

Noun (1)

These changes are being made for a good reason. They're not just window dressing.

the crime-does-not-pay moralizing is just window dressing for nasty hard-boiled stories

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Everyone else is window dressing. —Literary Hub, 21 May 2026

Those side-story quests are always guaranteed to be different narrative window dressings on time trials. —Adam Ismail, The Drive, 14 May 2026

The adaptation retains traces of its literary roots—there are multiple nods to Nabokov, including a bakery named after Charlotte Haze, Lolita’s mother—but its bookishness is mostly window dressing. —Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026

For years, the large-scale cannabis industry has treated aroma like window dressing — something nice to have, but not exactly essential. —Sara Payan, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

window entry 1 + dresser

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for window dressing

• acquiescing
• coalescing
• convalescing
• dispossessing
• prepossessing
• reassessing
• accessing
• addressing
• assessing
• caressing
• compressing
• confessing