whitewash
(redirected from whitewashes)Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
white·wash
(wīt′wŏsh′, -wôsh′, hwīt′-)n.
1. A mixture of lime and water, often with whiting, size, or glue added, that is used to whiten walls, fences, or other structures.
2. Concealment or palliation of flaws or failures.
3. A defeat in a game in which the loser scores no points.
tr.v. white·washed, white·wash·ing, white·wash·es
1. To paint or coat with whitewash.
2. To conceal or gloss over (wrongdoing, for example).
3. Sports To defeat (an opponent) in a game in which the opponent does not score.
white′wash′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
whitewash
(ˈwaɪtˌwɒʃ)n
1. (Elements & Compounds) a substance used for whitening walls and other surfaces, consisting of a suspension of lime or whiting in water, often with other substances, such as size, added
2. informal deceptive or specious words or actions intended to conceal defects, gloss over failings, etc
3. (General Sporting Terms) informal a defeat in a sporting contest in which the loser is beaten in every match, game, etc in a series: they face the prospect of a whitewash in the five-test series.
vb (tr)
4. (Building) to cover or whiten with whitewash
5. informal to conceal, gloss over, or suppress
6. (General Sporting Terms) informal to defeat (an opponent or opposing team) by winning every match in a series
ˈwhiteˌwasher n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
white•wash
(ˈʰwaɪtˌwɒʃ, -ˌwɔʃ, ˈwaɪt-)n.
1. a composition, as of lime and water or of whiting, size, and water, used for whitening walls and woodwork.
2. something that glosses over faults or absolves one from blame.
3. a defeat in which the loser fails to score.
v.t. 4. to whiten with whitewash.
5. to cover up the faults or errors of; absolve from blame.
6. to defeat by keeping the opponent from scoring.
[1585–95]
white′wash`er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
whitewash
Past participle: whitewashed
Gerund: whitewashing
| Imperative |
|---|
| whitewash |
| whitewash |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
Whitewash
A thin, white wash composed primarily of lime and water. It was sometimes used instead of the more expensive paint to cover walls and fences.
1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn’t Know by W.R. Runyan Copyright © 2011 by W.R. Runyan
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. | whitewash - a defeat in which the losing person or team fails to score |
| 2. | whitewash - wash consisting of lime and size in water; used for whitening walls and other surfaces wash - a thin coat of water-base paint | |
| 3. | whitewash - a specious or deceptive clearing that attempts to gloss over failings and defects clearing - the act of freeing from suspicion | |
| Verb | 1. | whitewash - cover up a misdemeanor, fault, or error; "Let's not whitewash the crimes of Stalin"; "She tried to gloss over her mistakes" |
| 2. |  whitewash - cover with whitewash; "whitewash walls"wash - apply a thin coating of paint, metal, etc., to calcimine - cover with calcimine; "calcimine the walls" | |
| 3. | whitewash - exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
whitewash
verb
1. cover up, conceal, suppress, camouflage, make light of, gloss over, extenuate, airbrush The administration is whitewashing the regime's actions.
cover up reveal, expose, disclose, unveil, uncover, unmask, lay bare
cover up reveal, expose, disclose, unveil, uncover, unmask, lay bare
noun
1. cover-up, deception, camouflage, concealment, smoke and mirrors, extenuation The report's findings were condemned as total whitewash.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
whitewash
verb1. To give a deceptively attractive appearance to:
Idioms: paper over, put a good face on.
2. To conceal or make light of a fault or offense:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
بَيَاضٌ لِطِلَاءِ الـجُدْرانطِلاء جيري مائييَطلي بِطلاء جيري مائي
vápenné mléko
kalkkalke
maalata kalkkimaalilla
bojati vapnom
meszeltisztára mosbemeszel
kalkakalkhvíta
漆喰を塗る
희게 회칠하다
vápenné mliekovybielený
bortförklara
ปูนขาวทาผนัง
quét vôi
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
whitewash
[ˈhwaɪtwɒʃ] n
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
whitewash
[ˈwaɪtˌwɒʃ]1. n → (bianco di) calce f
2. vt (wall) → imbiancare (con la calce) (fig) (person, sb's faults) → coprire; (motives) → dissimulare; (event, episode) → sminuire
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
white
(wait) adjective1. of the colour of the paper on which these words are printed. The bride wore a white dress.
2. having light-coloured skin, through being of European etc descent. the first white man to explore Africa.
3. abnormally pale, because of fear, illness etc. He went white with shock.
4. with milk in it. A white coffee, please.
noun1. the colour of the paper on which these words are printed. White and black are opposites.
2. a white-skinned person. racial trouble between blacks and whites.
3. (also ˈegg-white) the clear fluid in an egg, surrounding the yolk. This recipe tells you to separate the yolks from the whites.
4. (of an eye) the white part surrounding the pupil and iris. The whites of her eyes are bloodshot.
ˈwhiten verb to make or become white or whiter. She used a little bleach to whiten the sheets.
ˈwhiteness nounˈwhitening noun
a substance used to make certain things (eg tennis shoes) white again.
ˈwhitish adjective fairly white; close to white.
ˌwhite-ˈcollar adjective (of workers, jobs etc) not manual; (working) in an office etc.
white elephant a useless, unwanted possession.
white horse noun (usually in plural) a wave that has a crest of white foam.
ˌwhite-ˈhot adjective (of metals) so hot that they have turned white. a white-hot poker.
white lie a not very serious lie. I'd rather tell my mother a white lie than tell her the truth and upset her.
ˈwhitewash noun a mixture of usually lime and water, used for whitening walls.
verb to cover with whitewash.
ˈwhitewashed adjectivewhite winewine
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
whitewash
→ بَيَاضٌ لِطِلَاءِ الـجُدْران vápenné mléko kalk tünchen ασβεστώνω blanquear, encalar maalata kalkkimaalilla lait à la chaux bojati vapnom imbiancare 漆喰を塗る 희게 회칠하다 witwassen kalke pobielić branquear, cal белить bortförklara ปูนขาวทาผนัง badanalamak quét vôi 刷石灰Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009