as in alcohol
illegally produced liquor
college students secretly mixing up a batch of white lightning in the school lab
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Recent Examples of white lightning
First, the white lightning… Bill Whitaker: Wow, that gives a punch.
—
Bill Whitaker, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
Don’t let the green mist tinged with white lightning and rotating cosmic orifices fool you, however: Ingesting psychedelic drugs is not recommended before watching this film.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
Above the patch is another white lightning bolt.
—Omari Sankofa Ii, Detroit Free Press, 1 Nov. 2021
One, the stereotype is as dated as Moon Pies and white lightning.
—Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 11 June 2020
Bill Whitaker, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
Don’t let the green mist tinged with white lightning and rotating cosmic orifices fool you, however: Ingesting psychedelic drugs is not recommended before watching this film.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
Above the patch is another white lightning bolt.
—Omari Sankofa Ii, Detroit Free Press, 1 Nov. 2021
One, the stereotype is as dated as Moon Pies and white lightning.
—Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 11 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for white lightning
Noun
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The goal here is to convert the organic compound n-butanol into 1,4 butanediol, a bivalent alcohol and important raw material for plastics.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
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The driver of the truck, a 40-year-old man, was not hurt and will be subject to drug and alcohol testing, which police say is standard procedure.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The cocktail menu includes four non-alcoholic drinks, including a booze-free Old Fashioned and a margarita.—
Sarah Blaskovich,
Dallas Morning News,
8 Jan. 2026
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The Bohemian waxwing even takes its name from its notorious penchant for booze.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Her source material is a pair of cassette tapes recorded by Dueñez in the ’90s, two of a series of bootlegs that the sonidero and his wife sold at the flea market along the Puente del Papa, a bridge connecting Monterrey’s prosperous city center with its mountainside slums.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
7 Jan. 2026
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After getting gouged repeatedly by bootleg play-action passes, screens and space plays over their first two series, the Pats struck back with a short-yardage stop and forced fumble on the next two series.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“White lightning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white%20lightning. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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