cheerful facade
1
6.0
- noun
:
fachada alegre
- Anna maintained a cheerful facade at work even though she was going through a difficult time.
Examples
-
It's not always easy to see past someone's cheerful facade to what they're really feeling.
-
Despite his cheerful facade, he was feeling very anxious about the exam.
-
Don't be fooled by her cheerful facade!
-
She always puts on a cheerful facade at work.
-
Despite feeling sad inside, she always maintained a cheerful facade in front of her friends.
-
His cheerful facade during the meeting hid the stress he was actually experiencing.
-
The actor's cheerful facade on stage contrasted sharply with his struggles in private.
Synonyms
306
6.7
An appearance that hides true feelings or intentions
72
5.1
A way of showing yourself that hides problems to make others think well of you
39
7.2
A false appearance that hides true problems
13
7.0
An attractive appearance that hides something unpleasant
8
6.8
A false appearance that hides someone's true feelings or plans
3
9.9
Hiding your true feelings or intentions by pretending
A smile that is fake but looks sincere
A polite or calm face that hides what someone really feels
A false front that hides real problems
A smile that is not real and hides anger or sadness
How Cheerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents directly contribute to the overall meaning: 'cheerful' describes a happy demeanor and 'facade' denotes a false outward appearance. As an adjective + noun composition, the phrase transparently denotes an outwardly happy appearance that conceals true feelings, a pattern common across languages and predictable for learners who know both words.
Etymology
Cheerful facade comes from the image of a building with a bright, painted facade that looks happy from the outside even if the rooms inside are different. So, cheerful facade means 'happy on the outside' but 'hides true feelings'.