whitewash

1 of 2

verb

white·​wash ˈ(h)wīt-ˌwȯsh 

-ˌwäsh

whitewashed; whitewashing; whitewashes

transitive verb

1

: to whiten with whitewash

a freshly whitewashed wall

a row of whitewashed cottages

"Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?"

—Mark Twain

2

a

: to gloss over or cover up (something, such as a record of criminal behavior)

refused to whitewash the scandal

In the years following the Nuremberg trials, there was an increasingly concerted effort to whitewash the record of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of the Third Reich.

—Rob Zacny

b

: to exonerate (someone) by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data

… seemed to be trying to tell the full story without trying to whitewash the dictator or conceal his atrocities.

—Ronald Hingley

3

informal : to hold (an opponent) scoreless in a game or contest

He stopped 38 shots to shut out the Oilers on Feb. 9; 39 in blanking the Rangers on Nov. 12; and 45 in whitewashing the Avalanche on Oct. 30.

—Austin Murphy

4

: to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as

a

: to portray (the past) in a way that increases the prominence, relevance, or impact of white people and minimizes or misrepresents that of nonwhite people

… touches obliquely on Jones' assertion that the mayor and other white city leaders want to "whitewash" the telling of our nation's civil rights struggles.

—Jeff Gauger

b

: to alter (an original story) by casting a white performer in a role based on a nonwhite person or fictional character

It was important to Jenny Han, author of the YA books To All the Boys I've Loved Before, that the film adaption would keep one key detail: that the lead character, Lara Jean, was Asian-American. In a new essay …, Han revealed that nearly every production company interested in adapting her best-selling book into a movie asked to whitewash it.

—Hunter Harris

The Hollywood screenwriter Max Landis has denied defending the casting of Scarlett Johansson in a "whitewashed" remake of the classic Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell.

—Ben Child

whitewasher noun

whitewashing noun

a wall that requires whitewashing

There shall be no whitewashing of Lizzie Eustace. She was abominable.

—Anthony Trollope

Including his Game 2 whitewashing of the A's, he'd allowed just three earned runs in his last 92 2/3 innings …

—Peter Gammons

In so many parts of the world, culture rooted in black communities has at one point or another faced attempts at whitewashing: Just look at all the buttoned-up white jazz ensembles that emerged across the United States in the early 20th century.

—Sebastian Modak

whitewash

2 of 2

noun

1

: a liquid composition for whitening a surface: such as

a

: a preparation for whitening the skin

b

: a composition (as of lime and water or whiting, size, and water) for whitening structural surfaces

2

: an act or instance of glossing over or of exonerating

3

: a defeat in a contest in which the loser fails to score

Synonyms

Verb

• ignore
• forgive
• overlook
• justify
• excuse
• explain
• pardon

Examples of whitewash in a Sentence

Verb

a book that tries to whitewash the country's past

refused to whitewash the governor's chronic disregard for the truth

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Finch, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, first as a renter and later as the owner of a unit in a brownstone, sought to bring out the industrial history buried under all that bland, whitewashed drywall. —Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 1 July 2025

Notably, there has been no effort to whitewash the native Hawaiian characters either through their visual or spoken characteristics (Carrere and Jason Scott Lee, who plays Nani’s surfer friend David, actually hail from the Aloha State). —Michael Rechtshaffen, HollywoodReporter, 22 June 2025

Noun

There is nothing that forces a shake-up and introspection more than an Ashes whitewash, and England turned to one of the biggest figures in women’s cricket history after a woeful winter. —Paul Newman, New York Times, 28 June 2025

After a couple of goalless draws and a laughable 10-0 whitewash, this is more like it: four goals, three red cards and a contest that rid the Club World Cup of its pre-season tour vibe. —Phil Hay, New York Times, 17 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1584, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for whitewash

• macintosh
• mackintosh
• mcintosh
• natchitoches
• backwash
• downwash
• mouthwash
• outwash
• panache
• bosh
• frosh
• gosh

Kids Definition

whitewash

1 of 2 verb

white·​wash ˈhwīt-ˌwȯsh 

-ˌwäsh,

ˈwīt-

1

: to whiten with whitewash

2

a

: to explain away or cover up

refused to whitewash the scandal

b

: to clear of a charge of wrongdoing by offering excuses, hiding facts, or conducting a careless investigation

accused the city council of whitewashing the mayor

3

informal : to prevent an opponent in a game or contest from scoring

whitewasher noun

whitewash

2 of 2 noun

1

: a mixture (as of lime and water) for whitening a surface

2

: a clearing or covering up of wrongdoing