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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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 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
  • Every successful technology eventually fades into the background while those fundamentals remain.
    — Michael Edmondson, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Even after his offence fades, Bouchard’s ability to move the puck out of the zone will have high value.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 31 July 2026
Definition of fades
Verb
  • Saturated without feeling loud, the playful hue transforms the Moss table and chairs into a statement set that brightens the whole room (though a natural Birch finish is also available for color skeptics).
    — Vy Yang, Architectural Digest, 31 July 2026
  • The forecast comes as noctilucent clouds are being seen in the northern hemisphere, a comet brightens and two meteor showers peak — just weeks before a total solar eclipse, for which solar eclipse glasses are required.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 31 July 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 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on whitens

Nglish: Translation of whitens for Spanish Speakers

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