facade
/fəˈsɑːd
/(also façade)
noun
1The principal front of a building, that faces on to a street or open space: the house has a half-timbered facade...
- There will also be a substantial increase in office space and the front facade of the building is to undergo a total makeover.
- The building facades facing the courtyard were to be cleaned and restored; a new glazed roof would cover the courtyard.
- The neighborhoods built during colonial times have narrow streets with continuous building facades that converge on central plazas.
Synonyms
front, frontage, face, aspect, elevation, exterior, outside
2A deceptive outward appearance: her flawless public facade masked private despair...
- Once you realise the closeness of the overlap between the two organisations, the facade appears paper thin.
- The myriad fences and neo-Georgian facades make the university appear to be the ultimate asylum from violence of all types.
- It's the Tokyo Dome, in the capital of a country known for its public facade of reserve and gentility.
Synonyms
show, front, appearance, false display, pretence, simulation, affectation, semblance, illusion, posture, pose, sham, fake, act, masquerade, charade, guise, mask, cloak, veil, veneer
Origin
Mid 17th century: from French façade, from face 'face', on the pattern of Italian facciata.
Rhymes
- scissor-like
- scissor man
- scissors
- scissors and paste
- scissors beak
- scissors-bird
- scissors crisis
- scissors-fashion
- scissors-grinder
- scissors grip
- scissors hold
- scissors jack
- scissors jump
- scissors kick
- scissors leg
- scissors-like
- scissorsmith
- scissors paper stone
- scissors-smith
- scissors-tail
- scissors-tailed
- scissortail
- scissor-tailed
- scissor-tailed flycatcher
- scissor tooth