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whiten

[ hwahyt-n, wahyt-n ]
/ ˈʰwaɪt n, ˈwaɪt n /
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verb (used with or without object)

to make or become white.

RELATED WORDS

bleach, blanch, whitewash, lighten, frost, dull, etiolate, blench, fade, white, pale, silver, grizzle, decolorize, chalk, decolor

Nearby words

  1. whiteline,
  2. whitelist,
  3. whitely,
  4. whiteman,
  5. whiteman, paul,
  6. whitener,
  7. whiteness,
  8. whitening,
  9. whiteout,
  10. whiteprint

Origin of whiten

1250–1300; Middle English whitenen; see white, -en1
SYNONYMS FOR whiten
Whiten, blanch, bleach mean to make or become white. To whiten implies giving a white color or appearance by putting a substance of some kind on the outside: to whiten shoes. To blanch implies taking away natural or original color throughout: to blanch celery by growing it in the dark. To bleach implies making white by placing in (sun) light or by using chemicals: to bleach linen, hair.
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ANTONYMS FOR whiten
blacken.
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Related formsun·whit·ened, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for whiten

British Dictionary definitions for whiten

whiten

/ (ˈwaɪtən) /

verb

to make or become white or whiter; bleach
Derived Formswhitening, noun
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