Potemkin village

noun

Definition of Potemkin villagenext
as in fig leaf

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of Potemkin village The Swedish government has come up with some drastically different economic figures on Russia that make the Kremlin’s official data seem like a Potemkin village. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 24 May 2026 But when Microsoft built the Potemkin village that is Copilot and charged for it, well, no thank you. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 Feb. 2026 Only Alain seems eager to ignore the disinformation and embrace this Potemkin village as the real deal (except when his eyes show a gathering concern). — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025 But his proudest accomplishments amount to little more than a progressive Potemkin village. — Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2025 Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder portray a married couple who build a Potemkin village of eco-friendly homes and pour-over coffee shops in a struggling New Mexico town. — Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025 But behind the Potemkin village, the Khmer Rouge regime is declining and the war with Vietnam threatens to invade the country. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 26 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Potemkin village
  1. fig leaf
  2. screen
  3. shield
  4. blind
Noun
  • Under the Assad regime, the parliament functioned as a ceremonial fig leaf that served political elites and passed laws that stripped ordinary Syrians of their basic rights.
    — Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Consider the crisp, Gimlet-like Mediterrânico, made with sea fennel and eucalyptus, or the Banana Bonanza, a riff on the Negroni with Madeira, banana, coconut butter, and fig leaf.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of fig leaf
Noun
  • In Obsession’s most horrifying sequence, the audience senses something awful is about to unfold several beats before the frenzy of blunt-force head trauma actually takes place on screen.
    — Chris Lee, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Egypt’s interior ministry said the screen belonged to an advertising firm that had a contract with an international company.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of screen
Noun
  • Each panel is different, their subtly shifting shapes recalling those of the shuttle’s heat-shield tiles.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Lily sacrificed her life on that day to protect wee Harry, just a baby at the time of her death, with a love shield.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of shield
Noun
  • Jackson’s blind was situated on rolling private farmland, and late that afternoon a fawn deer strolled down a mountain trail toward Jackson shortly before nightfall.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Corso sets up in the blind and points the scope across the water at a neon-pink bouquet of Greater Flamingos ballet-dancing along the far edge of the lagoon, while grebes dive, avocets wade, and egrets and herons hunt in the foreground.
    — Alexandra Marvar, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of blind

Browse Nearby Words

potbelly
Potemkin village
Potemkin villages
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Cite this Entry

“Potemkin village.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Potemkin%20village. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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