Potemkin Village Definition
noun
Something that appears elaborate and impressive but in actual fact lacks substance.
American Heritage
A false front or facade.
Webster's New World
(idiomatic) Any false construct devised to disguise a shortcoming or improve appearances.
Wiktionary
Other Word Forms of Potemkin Village
Noun
Singular:
Potemkin village
Plural:
potemkin-villagesOrigin of Potemkin Village
Purportedly named for fake settlements erected at the direction of Russian minister Grigori Alexsandrovich Potemkin to fool Empress Catherine II during her visit to Crimea in 1787.
From Wiktionary
After Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin who is said to have had elaborate fake villages constructed for Catherine the Great's tours of Ukraine and Crimea
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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