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Potëmkin

American  
[poh-tem-kin, puh-, puh-tyawm-kyin] / poʊˈtɛm kɪn, pə-, pʌˈtyɔm kyɪn /

noun

  1. Prince Grigori Aleksandrovich 1739–91, Russian statesman and favorite of Catherine II.

Potemkin British  
/ paˈtjɔmkin, pɒˈtɛmkɪn /

noun

  1. Grigori Aleksandrovich (ɡriˈɡɔrij alɪkˈsandrəvitʃ). 1739–91, Russian soldier and statesman; lover of Catherine II, whose favourite he remained until his death, and who is reputed to have erected sham villages along the route of the Empress's 1787 tour of the Crimea

  2. apparently impressive but actually sham or artificial

    North Korea's Potemkin hospital
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.