window-dressing

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win·dow-dress·ing

also win·dow dress·ing (wĭn′dō-drĕs′ĭng)

a. Decorative exhibition of retail merchandise in store windows.

b. Goods and trimmings used in such displays.

2. A means of improving appearances or creating a falsely favorable impression: "The realignment ... may be more window dressing than a substantive change in how the company does business" (Connie Guglielmo).

win′dow-dress′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

window-dressing

1. (Commerce) the ornamentation of shop windows, designed to attract customers

2. the pleasant, showy, or false aspect of an idea, policy, etc, which is stressed to conceal the real or unpleasant nature; façade

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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window-dressing

also window dressing
noun

A deceptive outward appearance:

cloak, color, coloring, cover, disguise, disguisement, façade, face, false colors, front, gloss, guise, mask, masquerade, pretense, pretext, semblance, show, veil, veneer.

Slang: put-on.

Translations

window

(ˈwindəu) noun

an opening in the wall of a building etc which is fitted with a frame of wood, metal etc containing glass or similar material, that can be seen through and usually opened. I saw her through the window; Open/Close the window; goods displayed in a shop-window.

ˈwindow-box noun

a box on a window-ledge, in which plants may be grown.

ˈwindow-dressing noun

the arranging of goods in a shop window.

ˈwindow-dresser noun

ˈwindow-frame noun

the wooden or metal frame of a window.

ˈwindow-ledge noun

a ledge at the bottom of a window (usually on the outside).

ˈwindow-pane noun

one of the sheets of glass in a window.

ˈwindow-shopping noun

looking at things in shop windows, but not actually buying anything.

ˈwindow-sill noun

a ledge at the bottom of a window (inside or outside).

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