whitewash
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A mixture of a powdered mineral substance.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wytwahshSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwaɪtwɑʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
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.
Wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces
countablefigurativebusiness
An act of clearing a person's debts, especially through a declaration of bankruptcy by a court.
countablefigurative
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.
verb
transitive
To paint (a building, a wall, etc.) a bright white with whitewash (noun noun, sense 1).
transitivefigurative
(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.
transitivefigurative
(chiefly film, television) To cast a white actor in a role for a person of colour in (a film, television programme, etc.).
transitivefigurative
(chiefly literary and poetic, often passive voice) To cover or coat (something) with a white substance, as if with whitewash (noun noun, sense 1); also, to light up (something) with white light.
transitivefigurative
(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.
transitivefigurative
(business) To clear (someone's) debts, especially through a declaration of bankruptcy by a court; also, to clear or write off (a debt).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: 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.
Used this way, whitewash is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use whitewash
- “Let's not whitewash the crimes of Stalin.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to paint (a building or a wall
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “whitewash” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.