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whitens

verb

present tense third-person singular of whiten
as in bleaches
to make white or whiter by removing color years of sunlight had almost completely whitened the flag

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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 whitens According to Hill, good old-fashioned sunlight naturally kills bacteria, refreshes items, and whitens fabrics. — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whitens
  1. bleaches
  2. fades
  3. brightens
Verb
  • His owner, Hannah Gleason from Oklahoma, told Newsweek that the merle gene isn’t a coloring gene rather than a gene that bleaches the fur and causes lack of pigmentation which can lead to birth defects, blindness, deafness, or sometimes all three.
    — Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Definition of bleaches
Verb
  • Biologically, a plant starts to prepare for seed production once a flower fades.
    — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The background star gradually brightens and then fades as the two stars move out of alignment.
    — Thomas Fauchez, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of fades
Verb
  • Along with many of the brand’s red light therapy tools, this device helps minimize fine lines and wrinkles, brightens your complexion, and, well, makes your skin look better.
    — Alyssa Grabinski, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
  • And as a lamp lights up a dark room, our faithfulness to God brightens the path for others, including government officials, to be more faithful, too.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of brightens

Browse Nearby Words

whitening
whitens
white-tie
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Cite this Entry

“Whitens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whitens. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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