1.
vanity; ostentation; false show; pretense
Outward display or embellishment that lacks substance; putting on a showy front to conceal the reality underneath.
虚飾を捨てる。
To cast off pretense.
虚飾のない生き方がしたい。
I want to live without pretense.
虚飾に満ちた社会に疲れて、田舎に引っ越した。
Tired of a society full of false show, I moved to the countryside.
A compound of 虚 (empty, vain) and 飾 (decoration, adornment). Describes the negative quality of ornamenting or embellishing to hide a lack of substance. Often used in literary and critical contexts.
USAGE:
Frequently appears in the negative — 虚飾のない (without pretense) and 虚飾を排する (to reject ostentation) — to praise honesty and simplicity.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 虚飾を捨てる — to cast off pretense
- 虚飾のない — without pretense, honest
- 虚飾に満ちた — full of false show
- 虚飾を排する — to reject ostentation
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 見栄 — vanity, showing off; more everyday and personal, while 虚飾 is broader and more literary
- 虚栄 — vanity; focuses on the desire for admiration, while 虚飾 emphasizes the outward display itself