to window-dress
- phrasal verb
- /ˈwɪndoʊˌdrɛs/
- The company tried to window-dress its financial reports to attract more investors.
Examples
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We shouldn't window-dress the facts; honesty is more important.
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She window-dressed the project to make it seem more innovative than it actually was.
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Politicians often window-dress their achievements before elections.
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The company tried to window-dress its financial reports to impress investors.
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Don't window-dress the facts!
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The company window-dressed its financial reports.
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They often window-dress their marketing strategies to hide the underlying issues.
Synonyms
Make something seem more attractive and ideal than it really is
Make something unpleasant seem nicer than it is
Make something look better than it really is
To make someone or something look more attractive and exciting than they really are
Make something seem more important or impressive than it is
To hide true feelings or intentions by pretending to feel something else
To dress or decorate in a fancy way to look nicer
To make small changes to something bad so it looks better without fixing the real problem
To make something or someone look bright and showy to attract attention
Make something seem more attractive than it really is
To make someone or something look fancier to impress people
To make a person or thing look fancy, often in a showy way
To make something look bright but not really valuable
To make something seem more sentimental or fake than it really is
How Deceptive
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Window-dress comes from shop windows that dress their window with pretty things to attract customers. So, to window-dress something is to 'make it look nicer than it really is', often to 'hide problems' or trick people.