whitewash

[wahyt-wosh, -wawsh, hwahyt-]

noun

1. a composition, as of lime and water or of whiting, size, and water, used for whitening walls, woodwork, etc.

2. anything, as deceptive words or actions, used to cover up or gloss over faults, errors, or wrongdoings, or absolve a wrongdoer from blame.

3. Sports Informal.,  a defeat in which the loser fails to score.

verb (used with object)

1. to whiten with whitewash.

2. 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.

   Synonyms: exonerate, vindicate, excuse

3. Sports Informal.,  to defeat by keeping the opponent from scoring.

   The home team whitewashed the visitors eight to nothing.

4. 1. 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.

   2. 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.

whitewash

/ ˈwaɪtˌwɒʃ /

noun

1. 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

2. informal,  deceptive or specious words or actions intended to conceal defects, gloss over failings, etc

3. 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

1. to cover or whiten with whitewash

2. informal,  to conceal, gloss over, or suppress

3. informal,  to defeat (an opponent or opposing team) by winning every match in a series

Other Word Forms

• whitewasher noun
• whitewashing noun
• unwhitewashed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of whitewash¹

First recorded in 1585–95; white + wash

Example Sentences

But his whitewashing campaign — or, more precisely, his White racial erasure project — does not exist in a vacuum.

From Salon

Their father, who was among the troops who liberated the Ohrdruf concentration camp in Germany in 1945, taught his sons that such crimes against humanity are not to be forgotten, whitewashed or ignored.

From Los Angeles Times

East Dunbartonshire Council previously paid damages to a parent who claimed the narrative of his daughter's bullying was being "whitewashed" in favour of her school.

From BBC

Revisions to Japanese textbooks began to spark controversy, with China and South Korea accusing Japan of whitewashing its wartime atrocities.

From BBC

Kirk, like decades of Christian right leaders before him, has found that loudly proclaiming your faith is an effective way to whitewash overt bigotry against people of color.

From Salon

Related Words

• gloss over 

When To Use

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.