lily-white

adjective

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\ ˈli-lē-ˈ(h)wīt

variants: or less commonly lily white

Definition of lily-white

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : white as a lily lily-white sheets

2a : having or involving few or no people of color : lacking racial diversity All too often, big-city cops live in lily-white enclaves like Simi Valley, California …— Les Payne Unless the Saints hire a black coach …, the NFL will continue its lily-white string of hires …— Peter King Most disappointingly, the main cast remains lily-white. — People Weekly

b : being or having extremely light pigmentation of the skin a lily-white complexion

3 or Lily-White or Lily White, dated, US politics : characterized by or favoring the exclusion of Black people especially from politics — compare black-and-tan sense 2

4 : lacking faults or imperfections : irreproachable, pure But Malcolm X has survived the gantlet of historical reassessment. A new generation responds to his principled rage precisely because he isn't lily white and goody-two-shoes.— Peter Rainer

lily-white

noun

variants: or lily white

plural lily-whites or lily whites

Definition of lily-white (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : something that is white He is a rock-solid, card-carrying free spirit, a young man who wears black tennis shoes in a sport that loves its lily whites …— Bill Dwyre

2 usually Lily-White or Lily White, plural Lily-Whites or Lily Whites, dated, US politics : a member of a political organization favoring the exclusion of Black people A lifelong Republican in the tradition of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, [Norris Wright] Cuney fought a decades-long battle with the "Lily-Whites," Texas Republicans obsessed with driving African Americans out of the party.— Joe Holley Known as Lily Whites in newspaper headlines, the segregationists maneuvered to exclude Black people from roles of significance.— Jack Schnedler