paint black

Represent someone or something as evil or harmful. This idiom is most often used in a negative context, as in He's not so black as he's been painted. [Late 1500s]

QUIZZES

DON’T VACILLATE! VANQUISH THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

It’d be a real faux pas to miss this quiz on the words from August 3–9, 2020!
Question 1 of 7
What does “vacillate” mean?
to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.
to cause to be empty or unoccupied.
to assent tacitly; agree; consent.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby paint black

pains, painstaking, paint, paintball, paintball game, paint black, paintbox, paint bridge, paintbrush, paint-by-numbers, painted
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.