whitewashing
Americannoun
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the act or process of whitening with whitewash.
The picket fence could use a few minor repairs, but mostly it needs a good whitewashing.
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an instance or methodical practice of covering up or glossing over the faults or errors of someone or something.
Behind her assurances that all the coffee was fair-trade, there always lurked the possibility of some creative whitewashing.
We would have known about this high-level corruption much sooner if it weren’t for the carefully orchestrated whitewashing within the department.
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the casting of a white actor to play a character of color in a film, television show, or play.
Whitewashing has a long tradition in the history of Hollywood casting.
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in a representation of a historical era or event, the focus on a member or members of the dominant cultural group rather than the minority individual or group whose presence would be more historically accurate.
The documentarian's whitewashing preserves the false notion that our race to the moon was won only on the shoulders of white heterosexual men.
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Etymology
Origin of whitewashing
First recorded in 1650–60 whitewashing for def. 1; 1760–70 whitewashing for def. 2; 2005–10 whitewashing for def. 3a; 1995–2000 whitewashing for def. 3b; whitewash ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
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.
The whitewashing of the wall has also been questioned by some who pointed out that maybe this approach was missing the point.
From BBC
When the New York Times profiled Ms. Rodríguez as a “moderate,” a backlash erupted: Thousands on X ridiculed the paper for whitewashing her bloodstained record.
What’s key to remember is that this new wave of hype surrounding East Asian media is less keen on whitewashing or objectifying than it may have been during previous eras.
From Salon
Users ask: How do we honor this holiday without whitewashing it?
From Salon
Rewriting and whitewashing the past, whether of a nation or its leaders, is standard operating procedure.
From Salon
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.
