WHITEWASH

whitewash

(noun) a specious or deceptive clearing that attempts to gloss over failings and defects

whitewash

(noun) wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces

whitewash

(noun) a defeat in which the losing person or team fails to score

whitewash

(verb) exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data

whitewash

(verb) cover with whitewash; “whitewash walls”

whitewash, gloss over, sleek over, hush up

(verb) cover up a misdemeanor, fault, or error; “Let’s not whitewash the crimes of Stalin”; “She tried to gloss over her mistakes”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

whitewash (countable and uncountable, plural whitewashes)

A lime and water mixture for painting walls and fences bright white.

(sports) A complete victory or series of victories without suffering any losses; a clean sweep.

(obsolete) Any liquid composition for whitening something, such as a wash for making the skin fair.

(politics) A campaign to paper over unfavorable elements.

Antonym: blackwash

Verb

whitewash (third-person singular simple present whitewashes, present participle whitewashing, simple past and past participle whitewashed)

To paint over with a lime and water mixture so as to brighten up a wall or fence.

(figurative) To cover over errors or bad actions.

Antonym: blackwash

(dated, transitive) To repay the financial debts of (another person).

(baseball, slang, dated, late, 19th century, archaic) To prevent a team from scoring any runs.

(US, UK, slang) In various games, to defeat (an opponent) so that they fail to score, or to reach a certain point in the game; to skunk.

(pejorative) To make over (a person or character, a group, an event, etc) so that it is or seems more white, for example by applying makeup to a person, or by covering over the participation of people of color in an event and focusing on only white participation.

Source: Wiktionary


White"wash` (, n.

1. Any wash or liquid composition for whitening something, as a wash for making the skin fair. Addison.

2. A composition of line and water, or of whiting size, and water, or the like, used for whitening walls, ceilings, etc.; milk of lime.

White"wash`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whitewashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Whitewashing.]

1. To apply a white liquid composition to; to whiten with whitewash.

2. To make white; to give a fair external appearance to; to clear from imputations or disgrace; hence, to clear (a bankrupt) from obligation to pay debts.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 December 2024

QUANDONG

(noun) Australian tree having hard white timber and glossy green leaves with white flowers followed by one-seeded glossy blue fruit


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest iced coffee is 14,228.1 liters and was created by Caffé Bene (South Korea), in Yangju, South Korea, on 17 July 2014. They poured iced black Americano on the giant cup that measured 3.3 meters tall and 2.62 meters wide.

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