window dressing

noun

Synonyms of window dressing next

: the display of merchandise in a retail store window

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

: something used to create a deceptively favorable or attractive impression

window-dress

ˈwin-dō-ˌdres

transitive verb

window dresser noun

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

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.

National Guardsmen have plenty of training and shouldn’t be depicted as political window dressing. —

Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2024 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, 20 Nov. 2024 Steichen and his staff took the best option plays from all levels of football and mixed them with NFL window dressing. —

Ted Nguyen, The Athletic, 22 Aug. 2024 But more celebrity window dressing would just be useless clutter obscuring the story of personal growth that’s at the heart of No Obligation. —

Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for window dressing

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of window dressing was in 1850

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Window dressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/window%20dressing. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.

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