as in innocent
free from guilt or blame
the state's lieutenant governor was the only member of the administration who could claim to have remained lily-white during the scandal
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Recent Examples of lily-white
Charlotte is not faring much better, immediately picking up on her outsider status in this lily-white town, and the way her new neighbors offer only bare-minimum politeness.
—
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
The broadening Carlile spoke of was evident in the Americanas’ increasing diversity in what was once considered a lily-white genre, as well as the growth of interest among young people for new old souls like Jesse Welles.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Sep. 2025
To the naked eye, the sport’s lily-white facade is deeply pervasive.
—Essence, 17 Oct. 2024
The suburbs have long and deep histories of racial exclusion, creating the lily-white neighborhoods that benefited generations of white families.
—Becky Nicolaides / Made By History, TIME, 15 Aug. 2024
Riding was a lily-white sport there, too, but there wasn’t the same kind of ceiling on what was possible for a Black man.
—Ryan Lenora Brown, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2024
Follow Thomas through the lily-white halls of his suburban school that contrasted sharply with his urban neighborhood, trying to reconcile his sexuality with the Christianity that raised him, the exhaustion of code-switching, covering the 2016 election and everything that came after.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 30 May 2024
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
The broadening Carlile spoke of was evident in the Americanas’ increasing diversity in what was once considered a lily-white genre, as well as the growth of interest among young people for new old souls like Jesse Welles.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Sep. 2025
To the naked eye, the sport’s lily-white facade is deeply pervasive.
—Essence, 17 Oct. 2024
The suburbs have long and deep histories of racial exclusion, creating the lily-white neighborhoods that benefited generations of white families.
—Becky Nicolaides / Made By History, TIME, 15 Aug. 2024
Riding was a lily-white sport there, too, but there wasn’t the same kind of ceiling on what was possible for a Black man.
—Ryan Lenora Brown, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2024
Follow Thomas through the lily-white halls of his suburban school that contrasted sharply with his urban neighborhood, trying to reconcile his sexuality with the Christianity that raised him, the exhaustion of code-switching, covering the 2016 election and everything that came after.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 30 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lily-white
Adjective
-
De Silva, police noted, was an innocent bystander who was not involved in the quarrel and was not believed to have been the target.—
Liam Quinn,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
-
So that seemingly innocent Machu Picchu stamp—one of the most popular souvenir stamps around—could be viewed not as a harmless keepsake but as an unauthorized alteration that might jeopardize your ability to travel.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The wide receivers and offensive line share some blame in the lack of production through the air, but Underwood isn’t blameless, either.—
Austin Meek,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
If Elsbeth doesn’t believe that the blameless Chop and his team of props guys did it, what about all of the men who like to visit Beryl at all hours of the evening?—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Each of them offers money and position but nothing much in the way of pleasure, excitement, intellectual stimulation, or the prospect of anything other than a life of loveless, socially irreproachable tedium possibly brightened by the occasional extramarital affair.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
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Beneath their air of irreproachable authority, Jung and Freud — both brilliantly played, the first with subtlety, the other with theatrical relish — wrestle with petty grievances and insecurities, while the former stubbornly rationalizes his affair with onetime patient Spielrein.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
And how many guiltless prisoners there are here!—
Alexei Navalny,
The New Yorker,
11 Oct. 2024
-
Many fans found its generally joyous treatment of Miranda’s guiltless affair with Che, a nonbinary comedian, in the first season off-putting.—
Lili Loofbourow,
Washington Post,
21 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Lily-white.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lily-white. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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