window dressing

as in facade
a deceptively attractive external appearance the crime-does-not-pay moralizing is just window dressing for nasty hard-boiled stories

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of window dressing The series is still going strong thanks to numerous sequels and a spinoff, wading into such over-the-top territory that the initial street racing conceit is now little more than window dressing. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025 Trappings like solar panels on the Vatican roof and an all-electric Popemobile aren’t just green window dressing. Mike Burbach, Twin Cities, 15 Aug. 2025 The social codes of bloodless brutality cloaked in plausible deniability aren’t window dressing. Elle Carroll, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2025 Flagrant violations across diverse policy realms suggested that the order’s commitment to the rule of law was rhetorical window dressing. Stacie E. Goddard, Foreign Affairs, 28 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for window dressing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for window dressing
facade
Noun
  • While no major changes to the building's facade are anticipated, the project calls for a one-story addition to its north annex.
    Hannah Kirby, jsonline.com, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The money, the success — all a facade.
    Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Window dressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/window%20dressing. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.

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