white

adjective

ˈ(h)wīt How to pronounce white (audio)
Definition of whitenext
1
as in faded
lacking an addition of color dazzlingly white paint on the walls of the new house

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in harmless
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt told a little white lie to spare her feelings

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pure
free from sin the tendency to see everything and everyone as morally black or white

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of white Symptoms can include a high fever, cough, runny nose, red/watery eyes, white spots inside the mouth and a rash that begins on the face at the hairline and moves downward on the body. — Finch Walker, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026 Jealousy and entitlement steer the actions of middling white writer June Hayward, who brazenly steals the manuscript of her much more talented friend, Chinese-American author, Athena Liu, after being the sole witness to Athena’s death. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026 Thus, the visual system for both white-tailed and fallow deer is particularly responsive to blue and green wavelengths. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026 Some arrived dressed in colorful yukata and carrying traditional-style umbrellas, joining a crowd that included Japanese residents and Japanese Americans alongside Black, white, Hispanic and other Kansas Citians. — Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for white
Recent Examples of Synonyms for white
  1. faded
  2. harmless
  3. pure
  4. transparent
  5. innocent
  6. colorless
  7. benign
  8. unpainted
Adjective
  • Not to mention, its faded ivy tone is the perfect autumn hue.
    — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Ben Rahilly owns an appliance store, a gift shop, a furniture store and a concrete business in Newberry, a faded logging town about 60 miles west of the Canadian border.
    — Russ McNamara, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of faded
Adjective
  • Its short fangs can likely pierce human skin, but the spider is not known to bite humans and is considered harmless.
    — Melissa Petruzzello, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
  • When we are inoculated against a disease, we are exposed to a small, harmless dose of something dangerous.
    — Rebecca Stafford, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of harmless
Adjective
  • Sanft argued his client’s account was pure fiction, and that investigators failed to quickly and vigorously corroborate it for a reason.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
  • These sneakers also come in a wide variety of colors and trims if pure white isn’t your thing.
    — Rebecca Shinners, Travel + Leisure, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of pure
Adjective
  • In the funding requests, law enforcement agencies were transparent about their intent for the license plate readers.
    — Ana Goñi-Lessan, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Because of perverse incentives, a system intended to make information about the present and knowledge about the future more transparent has made the world more opaque and volatile.
    — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of transparent
Adjective
  • When model Tricia Helfer came in for a touch-up before an introductory visit to her boyfriend’s parents, Johns toned down her bright blonde chunks to play up her naturally innocent looks.
    — Vanessa Friedman, Vogue, 1 Sep. 2026
  • In a cruel coup de grace, Acosta reached into Shuler’s bag to steal an item while the innocent customer was still alive, prosecutors said.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of innocent
Adjective
  • Sophie is a wet cardigan of a protagonist—drippy, colorless and so devoid of personality that most of her exchanges with her best friend concern an actual lost cardigan.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Whitaker described the look as a slightly muted range of color with deep black shadows, not bleak or colorless, but restrained, serious, suburban, and ordinary.
    — Dana Feldman, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of colorless
Adjective
  • The market's fear gauge, the volatility index known as the VIX, is at very benign levels under 16, while the S & P 500 is within spitting distance of its highs.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
  • But the Jewish contribution to childhood wasn’t always benign.
    — Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of benign
Adjective
  • For untreated, unpainted wood railings, combine 4 tablespoons of dish soap with 2 cups of bleach and a quart of warm water.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 18 July 2026
  • The researchers took samples of pigments from both ancient cave paintings and the surfaces of nearby unpainted rocks inside 11 caves.
    — Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 2 July 2026
Definition of unpainted

Phrases Containing white

Browse Nearby Words

whit
white
whitebeard
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Cite this Entry

“White.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on white

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about white

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