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 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
But the code has no enforcement mechanism, leading critics to deride it as largely window dressing.
—
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 14 June 2024
But the window dressing of new legal codes and electoral procedures sought to obscure a reality that was far from democratic.
—Renad Mansour, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2023
Those songs function as inoffensive window dressing.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Apr. 2024
The circumstances of their lives are just window dressings.
—Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for window dressing 
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 14 June 2024
But the window dressing of new legal codes and electoral procedures sought to obscure a reality that was far from democratic.
—Renad Mansour, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2023
Those songs function as inoffensive window dressing.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Apr. 2024
The circumstances of their lives are just window dressings.
—Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for window dressing
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'window dressing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near window dressing
Cite this Entry
“Window dressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/window%20dressing. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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