window dressing

noun

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

Synonyms of window dressing

• facade

Examples of window dressing in a Sentence

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

Women are treated like commodities, mere inferior window dressing that are undeserving of becoming literate. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025

Even without all that window dressing, this is two division-leading teams, a premier QB matchup in Jalen Hurts vs. Jordan Love — and with the Pack hungry to replace the foul taste of last week’s shocking home loss to Carolina. —Greg Cote november 6, Miami Herald, 6 Nov. 2025

Events like these aren’t window dressing—they’re deal flow engines. —Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

To recreate the rickety window dressing, construct a frame of white lattice strips, cut boards from veneer paneling, then staple them at angles into the frame. —Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for window dressing

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