as in bleaching
to make white or whiter by removing color
years of sunlight had almost completely whitened the flag
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Recent Examples of whitening
One of the presoak methods is more effective in whitening dingy socks.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Jan. 2026
The dyes or whitening agents in these products can cause permanent damage.
—Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Dec. 2025
With snow whitening the field and wind whipping through the air all afternoon, Lindsey completed 18 of 24 passes in a safe diet of screen plays and out routes for 90 yards.
—CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025
Plus, score savings on best-selling teeth whitening strips.
—Isabel Garcia, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for whitening
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Jan. 2026
The dyes or whitening agents in these products can cause permanent damage.
—Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Dec. 2025
With snow whitening the field and wind whipping through the air all afternoon, Lindsey completed 18 of 24 passes in a safe diet of screen plays and out routes for 90 yards.
—CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025
Plus, score savings on best-selling teeth whitening strips.
—Isabel Garcia, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for whitening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whitening
Verb
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The figure skater actually began bleaching her own hair with a paintbrush—and only brought in a professional right before the 2026 Winter Olympics.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
19 Feb. 2026
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Fierce sunlight bleaching the stones of the old city, blinding the passengers as porters in white kaffiyehs and djellabas stack their portmanteaus on donkey carts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While the era of easy, equity-like returns is fading as the asset class matures and competition intensifies, private credit’s growth phase is not over just yet, said PitchBook analyst Kyle Walters.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2026
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The foothills in the distance become burnished in the golden hour’s fading light.—
Audrey T. Williams,
Mercury News,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Whitening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whitening. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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