facade
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the front part of a building that faces the street.
the principal front of a building, typically facing a public space or street, often featuring more elaborate architectural detail than the other sides.
Simple“The old museum has a beautiful stone facade with tall columns.”
In context“The architect preserved the original Victorian facade while completely modernising the internal structure of the office complex.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a way of behaving that hides your true feelings or a difficult situation.
a deceptive or artificial outward appearance used to conceal a less pleasant reality.
Simple“Behind his cheerful facade, he was actually feeling very lonely.”
In context“The company maintained a facade of financial stability for months, even as its internal debts continued to mount dangerously.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
a simple way to use a complex set of computer code.
a structural design pattern that provides a simplified interface to a larger, more complex body of code or subsystem.
Simple“The developer used a facade to make the complex library easier for others to use.”
In context“By implementing a facade, the engineering team decoupled the client-side logic from the intricate details of the legacy database API.”
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'facade pattern'.
Borrowed from French façade, from Italian facciata, a derivation of faccia (“front”), from Latin faciēs (“face”); compare face.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.