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whitewash

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 31 August 2025

Etymology

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A young man in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, painting with whitewash (noun sense 1).

The noun is derived from white (adjective) +‎ wash (noun).[1] Noun sense 5.1 (“medicinal preparation for treating skin diseases”) is a calque of New Latin lōtiō alba (literally “white wash”).

The verb is derived partly from white (adjective) +‎ wash (verb), and partly from the noun.[2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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whitewash (countable and uncountable, plural whitewashes)

  2. (uncountable) A mixture of a powdered mineral substance (often slaked lime (containing calcium hydroxide), chalk (calcium carbonate), or both) and water which is used for painting surfaces such as fences and walls bright white.
    • 1952, L. F. Salzman, Building in England, page 157:
      For walls plaster gave a smooth white surface; or if it was not sufficiently white, or had become discoloured, it could be brightened up with a coat of whitewash or paint.
  3. (countable, figurative)
    2. A thing used to hide mistakes, or to create an appearance of honesty, propriety, etc.; also (often politics), an act of hiding mistakes or creating an appearance of honesty, propriety, etc.; especially, a campaign, investigation, etc., which intentionally hides or overlooks unfavourable facts.
      Antonym: blackwash
      Coordinate term: eyewash
      • 2018 January 24, Hannah Beech, Rick Gladstone, “Citing ‘Whitewash,’ Bill Richardson Quits Rohingya Post”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
        “She has developed an arrogance of power,” Mr. Richardson said by telephone during a layover in Tokyo on his way back to New Mexico from Myanmar. “I’ve known her a long time and am fond of her, but she basically is unwilling to listen to bad news, and I don’t want to be part of a whitewash.”
        (Can we archive this URL?)
      • 2019 June 13, Kalyeena Makortoff, “FCA report into RBS called a 'complete whitewash' by critics”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
        A report by the City watchdog into the scandal at Royal Bank of Scotland’s turnaround unit has been described as a whitewash after the regulator confirmed it would not punish the bank for mistreating business customers following the financial crash.
        (Can we archive this URL?)
    3. (business) An act of clearing a person's debts, especially through a declaration of bankruptcy by a court.
    4. (sports, originally baseball) A complete victory or series of victories without suffering any losses; a clean sweep; also, a victory or series of victories by a very large margin.
      • 2010, Andrew Miller, Cricinfo:
        For the first time in a long time, Australia are being threatened with the prospect of a 5-0 whitewash
  4. (uncountable, cooking) The most basic type of thickening agent, consisting of flour blended with water to make a paste.
  5. (countable, cosmetics, historical) A preparation for making the skin look lighter.
    • 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian:
      I have heard a whole Sermon against a White-wash.
  6. (obsolete)
    2. (pharmacology, countable) Any of several medicinal preparations for treating skin diseases consisting of a mixture of a metallic compound (such as one of lead, sulfur, or zinc) and water.
    3. (wine, slang, uncountable) White wine, especially Madeira or sherry, drunk after dinner or after taking claret and port; (countable) a glass of such wine.
      • 1883, Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery, page lxxxiii:
        The bottles, however, were port bottles, but contained mushroom ketchup; and we can only say with regard to the 15s. sherry, that it would have made an admirable "whitewash," as Sheridan's glass is still sometimes called, […]
      • 1950, Wine & the Wine Trade, page 28:
        Sercial was also used as a sort of white-wash after the Port at dinner, those were the days when people had time to drink both Port and a White wash.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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

  1. (transitive)
    1. To paint (a building, a wall, etc.) a bright white with whitewash (noun sense 1).
      The houses looked very bright after they had whitewashed the whole neighbourhood.
      • 1978, Commissioner for Labour, “Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Regulations 1978”, in Hong Kong Government Gazette‎[3], page B538:
        Provided that any such window or skylight may be whitewashed or shaded for the purpose of mitigating heat or glare.
    2. (figurative)
      1. (derogatory) To distort or give a misleading account of (history, a narrative, etc.) by discounting the participation of people of colour and focusing on white people.
        • 2015 August 6, Ernest Owens, “Hollywood, Don’t You Dare Whitewash Stonewall”, in HuffPost‎[4], archived from the original on 16 April 2025:
          If you appreciate historical accuracy and fair inclusion, don't go see this film [Stonewall (2015)]. If you don’t want to fuel the economy at another Hollywood attempt of whitewashing American history, don't give any aspect of this film a single dime or promotion.
        • 2017 June 20, Corey Atad, “Lost in Adaptation”, in Slate‎[5], New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 June 2025:
          Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled cuts the book's black characters, whitewashing its tale of the Civil War–era South. At this point, that's hardly a surprise. [subtitle]
        1. (chiefly film, television) To cast a white actor in a role for a person of colour in (a film, television programme, etc.).
        2. (media) To make over (someone of colour) so that they appear more white, for example, by applying lightening makeup to their skin or digitally manipulating an image of them.
          • 2019 January 23, Justin McCurry, “Naomi Osaka sponsor apologises for ‘whitewashing’ tennis star in ad”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[7], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 December 2024:
            One of Naomi Osaka's sponsors has been forced to apologise after depicting the Japanese tennis star, who is half-Haitian, with pale skin in an advertisement. […] The company said it had not intended to "whitewash" the athlete, […] The ad, which also features her compatriot Kei Nishikori, drew criticism on social media, with many users accusing Nissin of whitewashing Osaka, whose mother is Japanese.
      2. (chiefly literary and poetic, often passive voice) To cover or coat (something) with a white substance, as if with whitewash (noun sense 1); also, to light up (something) with white light.
      3. (business) To clear (someone's) debts, especially through a declaration of bankruptcy by a court; also, to clear or write off (a debt).
        • 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers 43:
          Meanwhile, Sam, having been formally introduced to the whitewashed gentleman and his friends, as the offspring of Mr. Weller, of the Belle Savage, was treated with marked distinction, and invited to regale himself with them in honour of the occasion—an invitation which he was by no means backward in accepting.
      4. (often politics) To hide (someone's) mistakes, or to create an appearance of honesty, propriety, etc., for (someone); also, to intentionally hide or overlook (mistakes, unfavourable facts, wrongdoing, etc.).
        Synonyms: cover up; gloss over; paper over
        Antonym: blackwash
        In his sermon, the minister didn’t try to whitewash over the sins of his church.
        • 1740, Colley Cibber, chapter I, in An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Cibber, […], London: […] John Watts for the author, →OCLC, page 3:
          Novv, Sir, vvhen my Time comes, leſt they ſhou'd think it vvorth vvhile to handle my Memory vvith the ſame Freedom, I am vvilling to prevent its being ſo odly beſmear'd (or at beſt but flatly vvhite-vvash'd) by taking upon me to give the Publick This, as true a Picture of myſelf as natural Vanity vvill permit me to dravv; […]
        • 2015 November 12, Se-Woong Koo, “South Korea’s textbook whitewash”, in The New York Times‎[8], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 7 March 2025:
          The books have yet to be written. But there is no question that Ms. Park [Geun-hye] and her Saenuri Party will whitewash the past to bolster the conservative cause at the expense of the education system and South Korea's international reputation as a democracy, and harm Seoul's attempt to hold Japan accountable for its wartime conduct.
        • 2024 January 6, Nick Robertson, “Fanone says GOP lawmakers attempt to ‘whitewash’ Jan. 6 due to ‘politically inconvenient’ reality”, in The Hill‎[9], Washington, D.C.: Capitol Hill Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 August 2024:
          “It pisses me off to see Republican lawmakers continue to spread the lies and conspiracy theories regarding January 6, in an attempt to whitewash that day, because it’s politically inconvenient for them to acknowledge the reality of what happened,” [Michael] Fanone said during an MSNBC interview Friday.
      5. (sports, originally baseball, informal) To achieve a complete victory or series of victories over (an opponent) without suffering any losses; also, to achieve a victory or series of victories over (an opponent) by a very large margin.
        Synonym: (slang) skunk
        Australia whitewashed the West Indies 3–0.
    3. (cosmetics, archaic or historical) To make (the face, etc.) look lighter with makeup or a similar preparation.
    4. (obsolete) Synonym of bleach (“to treat (fabric) with a substance which lightens or whitens”).
  2. (intransitive)
    1. To paint bright white with whitewash (noun sense 1).
    2. (figurative, business) To have debts cleared through a declaration of bankruptcy by a court.
    3. (masonry, archaic) Of bricks: to become encrusted with a white layer of soluble salts due to efflorescence.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “whitewash, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024; “whitewash, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “whitewash, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025; “whitewash, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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