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definitions

lily-white

[ adjective lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt; noun lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt ]
/ adjective ˈlɪl iˈʰwaɪt, -ˈwaɪt; noun ˈlɪl iˌʰwaɪt, -ˌwaɪt /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lily-white ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

white as a lily: soft lily-white skin.
pure; untouched by corruption or imperfection; above reproach: He tries to pass himself off as some sort of lily-white saint, but he's not.
designating or pertaining to any faction, organization, or group opposing the inclusion of blacks, especially in political or social life.

noun

a member of a lily-white organization, especially a member of a former faction of the Republican Party in the South opposed to the inclusion of blacks in the party or in political life in general.

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RELATED WORDS

admirable, blameless, characteristic, classic, classical, commendable, correct, estimable, excellent, faultless, good, guiltless, honorable, illustrative, inculpable, innocent, irreprehensible, irreproachable, laudable, meritorious

Nearby words

  1. lily of the valley,
  2. lily pad,
  3. lily-livered,
  4. lily-of-the-nile,
  5. lily-trotter,
  6. lilyan,
  7. lilyturf,
  8. lim fjord,
  9. lim.,
  10. lima

Origin of lily-white

1275–1325; Middle English lylie-whyt
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lily-white

British Dictionary definitions for lily-white

lily-white

adjective

of a pure whitelily-white skin
informal pure; irreproachable
US informal
  1. discriminating against Black peoplea lily-white club
  2. racially segregated
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lily-white

lily-white

adj.

early 14c., from lily + white; from 1903 with reference to whites-only segregation; 1964 as "irreproachable."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper