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whitelash

American  
[hwahyt-lash, wahyt‐] / ˈʰwaɪtˌlæʃ, ˈwaɪt‐ /

noun

  1. a hostile or violent reaction by white people to the advances or influx of other racial or ethnic groups.

    a whitelash against African Americans, immigrants, and Muslims.

Etymology

Origin of whitelash

First recorded in 1965–70; blend of white ( def. ) and (back)lash ( def. )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.