as in fading
to make white or whiter by removing color
bleached the stained shirt back to its original white
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Recent Examples of bleaching
Some dishwasher tablets include bleaching agents and rinse aids that can keep your clothes from cleaning properly or even stain them.
—
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 Nov. 2025
More than that, the YouTuber decided to rid her face of eyebrows, bleaching the hairs above her eyes to match the hue of her hair.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
For example, coral reefs are bleaching more often and dying due to ocean warming and acidification, undermining fisheries, marine biodiversity and economic sectors such as tourism.
—Lauren Gifford, Space.com, 25 Aug. 2025
The pic also showed off Jennifer Aniston’s money piece highlights, the face-framing way to give yourself a bit of a blonde glow without bleaching your whole head, sort of the way a ring light illuminates you from the front.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 19 Aug. 2025
By midmorning in the Central Valley, the light turns hard and white, bleaching the sky and flattening every shadow.
—Dean Florez, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
Similarly, bleaching with chemicals like permanganate or hypochlorite, which consumes substantial water, can be replaced by ozone bleaching using air, significantly reducing water usage and simplifying the drying process.
—Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 5 Dec. 2024
To keep their golden color, sultanas are treated with sulfur dioxide, a bleaching preservative that prevents them from oxidizing (turning brown) and retains their quality and uniform color.
—Lauren O'Connor, Ms, Health, 29 Sep. 2024
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 Nov. 2025
More than that, the YouTuber decided to rid her face of eyebrows, bleaching the hairs above her eyes to match the hue of her hair.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
For example, coral reefs are bleaching more often and dying due to ocean warming and acidification, undermining fisheries, marine biodiversity and economic sectors such as tourism.
—Lauren Gifford, Space.com, 25 Aug. 2025
The pic also showed off Jennifer Aniston’s money piece highlights, the face-framing way to give yourself a bit of a blonde glow without bleaching your whole head, sort of the way a ring light illuminates you from the front.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 19 Aug. 2025
By midmorning in the Central Valley, the light turns hard and white, bleaching the sky and flattening every shadow.
—Dean Florez, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
Similarly, bleaching with chemicals like permanganate or hypochlorite, which consumes substantial water, can be replaced by ozone bleaching using air, significantly reducing water usage and simplifying the drying process.
—Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 5 Dec. 2024
To keep their golden color, sultanas are treated with sulfur dioxide, a bleaching preservative that prevents them from oxidizing (turning brown) and retains their quality and uniform color.
—Lauren O'Connor, Ms, Health, 29 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bleaching
Verb
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Data Privacy Week is one of those calendar moments that risks fading into the background.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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The oil’s powerhouse formula has a number of benefits, including brightening skin and fading age spots.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Also inside are soothing Centella Asiatica, which brings down inflammation, with a powerful blend of tranexamic acid, kojic acid, niacinamide, and azelaic acid (essentially a Who's Who of brightening ingredients).—
Deanna Pai,
Allure,
29 Jan. 2026
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Moreover, white clothing and linens also typically thrive in warmer water (depending on fabric) and may benefit from brightening agents that may be too harsh for colored fabrics.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Your next tooth-whitening and repairing substance might well be a new powder developed by Shanghai researchers.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Jan. 2026
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One of the presoak methods is more effective in whitening dingy socks.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bleaching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bleaching. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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