whitewash
Americannoun
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whitewashes
plural
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a composition, as of lime and water or of whiting, size, and water, used for whitening walls, woodwork, etc.
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anything, as deceptive words or actions, used to cover up or gloss over faults, errors, or wrongdoings, or absolve a wrongdoer from blame.
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Sports Informal. a defeat in which the loser fails to score.
verb (used with object)
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whitewashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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whitewashed,
past participle, past
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whitewashing
present participle
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to whiten with whitewash.
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to cover up or gloss over the faults or errors of, as to shield from suspicion or blame.
His complaint with the soft drink industry is that they’ve whitewashed a serious health concern by normalizing the overconsumption of sugary beverages.
The plan was to whitewash all the preliminary deals that led up to the “inadvertently illicit” contract, but the investigation revealed the coach’s hands all over those deals.
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Sports Informal. to defeat by keeping the opponent from scoring.
The home team whitewashed the visitors eight to nothing.
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to cast a white actor to play (a character of color, or a character belonging to a minority group) in a film, television show, or play.
The studio executives whitewashed the role of Genghis Khan, choosing a famous white actor who was a popular box-office draw.
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to exclude or erase (a minority character or group) by substituting a member or members of the dominant cultural group in fictional representations of historical events.
The film whitewashes Black trans women, attributing their contributions and actions to white gay men.
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noun
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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
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informal deceptive or specious words or actions intended to conceal defects, gloss over failings, etc
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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
verb
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to cover or whiten with whitewash
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informal to conceal, gloss over, or suppress
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informal to defeat (an opponent or opposing team) by winning every match in a series
Usage
What does whitewash mean? To whitewash is to intentionally hide some kind of wrongdoing, error, or unpleasant situation—or deal with it in a way that attempts to make it seem less bad than it is. Whitewash can also be used as a noun referring to the deceptive words or actions used to cover something up in this way. These figurative senses of the word come from its original, literal meaning: to cover or whiten with whitewash—a paintlike substance used to whiten surfaces like walls and wood. The word sometimes simply means to paint something white. (A classic passage in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain involves Tom Sawyer tricking other boys into whitewashing a fence for him.)The metaphor used in the figurative sense of the word is that of painting over flaws to cover them up instead of actually fixing them. This often involves only superficially addressing the problem, trying to distract from it, or trying to change the subject. The verb phrases gloss over and cover up are used in similar ways. Example: The PR team has continually tried to whitewash the scandal by suggesting that the company was a victim of its own CEO’s negligence. More recently, the word whitewash has become a slang term meaning to cast a white actor to play a character of color, such as in a TV show or movie. For example, if a movie were made based on a comic book in which a character was Asian, casting a white actor to play that character would be an instance of whitewashing. Whitewash is also used in situations in which members of a marginalized group are excluded or erased through substitution with members of the dominant cultural group, such as in fictional representations of historical events. The adjective whitewashed is sometimes used in a negative way to describe people of color whose identity or personality is thought to be more like that of their white peers than that of other people with the same cultural identity, especially when they primarily associate with white people. The term is typically used by people of color to criticize other people of color, such as those in immigrant or communities who are thought to have assimilated to the dominant white culture without maintaining many or any elements of their own cultural identity. Example: Finally, we get a film in which we see a realistic depiction of the Black and Indigenous women behind the movement—not a version of the story that has been whitewashed by Hollywood.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whitewashsimple
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whitewashessimple
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have whitewashedperfect
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has whitewashedperfect
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am whitewashingprogressive
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are whitewashingprogressive
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is whitewashingprogressive
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have been whitewashingperfect progressive
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has been whitewashingperfect progressive
Past
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whitewashedsimple
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had whitewashedperfect
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was whitewashingprogressive
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were whitewashingprogressive
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had been whitewashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whitewash
Vocabulary lists containing whitewash
White
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"A Day's Work," Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In a joint statement following the judge's ruling last month, Harry and campaigner Doreen Lawrence called it "a complete and obvious whitewash".
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
She said the windmill should be repainted in whitewash as it is a historical building, and traditionally "that's how the mills were".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Patriotism doesn’t ask us to whitewash the country’s shortcomings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Once virtually lost to memory after being painted over with whitewash, the frescoes began to be uncovered in the mid-19th century -- but the work left scratches and pockets of white on the frescoed walls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
“Lot of work to whitewash a house that big,” I said.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
Tradwife content whitewashes history, but an honest look shows that contempt for housewives was a widespread theme in the past.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2026
Critics say the new text still whitewashes the history of Bruce’s Beach, and many questioned whether creating a new monument actually amounts to justice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2023
Unlike the critic George Saintsbury, who looked to 18th-century literature for “repose and refreshment,” Damrosch never idealizes or whitewashes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 17, 2019
But the film "whitewashes some of the darker aspects" of the personality of circus promoter PT Barnum, played by Jackman, she explains.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2018
And Ezekiel was commanded to say to these whitewashes, "It shall fall!"
From The Prophet Ezekiel An Analytical Exposition by Arno C. Gaebelein
A bird’s-eye shot of spike heel-clad feet framing an esoteric dress acquisition, a styling clip attached to soft fabric sitting lightly and low-rise, a dress-up session framed by whitewashed wood with the perfect patina.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Beneath the hospital windows and newly whitewashed walls there are rows of strawberries and cucumbers planted by the prisoners.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
There was no immediate confirmation of the identities of those who died but the authorities said many of the victims may be foreigners who were in Bedar, a small whitewashed village in Los Gallardos district.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Now AI is upending workplaces in ways both real and whitewashed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Whitcross is no town, nor even a hamlet; it is but a stone pillar set up where four roads meet: whitewashed, I suppose, to be more obvious at a distance and in darkness.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Instead of leaning into cliché or whitewashing, he radiated dignity, cultural pride and a new kind of Black romantic masculinity—sensual without becoming caricature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
And I agree with Coates when he criticized Klein for whitewashing Charlie Kirk’s legacy, and agree that while we should not celebrate a person’s death, we also shouldn’t paper over who they were in life.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2025
“Roger W. Straus Jr. completes the process of whitewashing the family name,” she writes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
The Times’ Berlin correspondent Guido Enderis specialized in “puffy profiles of leading Nazis” while whitewashing the regime’s more evil aspects in the mid-1930s.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
The men whitewashing the rocks made no sounds.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
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.
