facade

/fə:sɑ:d/
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facade

The old building's ornate facade was being carefully restored.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A deceptive outward appearance: A superficial or false front that conceals a less pleasant reality.
    • The principal front of a building: The face or front wall of a structure, often architecturally designed.
Examples of Usage
  • Noun (Deceptive appearance):
    • His cheerful manner is just a facade to hide his sadness.
    • The company's friendly facade crumbled when the scandal was exposed.
  • Noun (Building front):
    • The historic building's stone facade was beautifully restored.
    • The architect designed a glass facade for the new office tower.
Advanced Usage
  • "Maintain a facade": To consciously keep up a false appearance.
    • She maintained a facade of confidence during the difficult negotiations.
  • "Behind the facade": Referring to the reality hidden by the outward appearance.
    • Behind the elegant facade of the mansion, there was great financial distress.
Variants and Related Words
  • Facadism (n): An architectural practice where only the facade of a building is preserved while the interior is rebuilt.
    • The project involved facadism, keeping the old brick front but constructing a modern interior.
  • Facade pattern (n): A design pattern in software engineering that provides a simplified interface to a complex system.
Synonyms
  • Pretense: An attempt to make something that is not the case appear true.
  • Front: A person or organization serving as a cover for subversive or illegal activities; also, the forward-facing side.
  • Exterior: The outer surface or structure of something.
Related Phrases
  • "Put up a facade": To create a deceptive outward show.
    • He put up a facade of indifference, but he was deeply hurt.
Related Idioms
  • A veneer of respectability: A superficial appearance of being proper and respectable.
    • The charity was a veneer of respectability for their illegal operations. (This idiom shares a similar conceptual meaning of a deceptive surface.)
facade

The old building's ornate facade was being carefully restored.

Noun
  1. a showy misrepresentation intended to conceal something unpleasant
  2. the face or front of a building