Synonyms of whitewashes

whitewashes 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of whitewash

1

as in ignores

to dismiss as of little importance

refused to whitewash the governor's chronic disregard for the truth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ignores
• forgives
• overlooks
• justifies
• explains
• disregards
• pardons
• condones
• excuses
• remits
• passes over
• discounts
• shrugs off
• papers over
• winks (at)
• brushes (aside or off)
• glosses (over)
• blinks (at)
• forgives and forgets
• rationalizes
• exonerates
• overpasses
• exculpates
• vindicates
• absolves
• glozes (over)
• closes one's eyes to
• acquits
• waives
• waves (aside or off)
• clears

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• marks
• notes
• minds
• objects (to)
• heeds

2

as in justifies

to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses

don't try to whitewash your rudeness by claiming that you were having a bad day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• justifies
• excuses
• explains
• extenuates
• palliates
• glosses (over)
• deodorizes
• confesses
• explains away
• minimizes
• atones
• apologizes
• sugarcoats
• rationalizes
• varnishes
• exonerates
• mitigates
• glozes (over)
• softens
• accounts (for)
• vindicates
• exculpates
• soft-pedals
• alleviates
• absolves
• lightens
• acquits
• moderates
• eases
• plays down
• lessens
• tempers
• clears

whitewashes

2 of 2

noun

plural of whitewash

1

as in rationalizations

Related Words

• rationalizations
• vindications
• rationales
• justifications
• pretexts
• excuses
• apologies
• pretenses
• outs
• colors
• alibis
• defenses
• cop-outs
• guises
• pleas
• confessions
• reasons
• atonements
• acknowledgments
• extenuations
• palliations

2

as in washouts

Related Words

• washouts
• lurches
• shutouts
• collapses
• flops
• setbacks
• upsets
• debacles
• failures
• fiascoes
• defeats
• fizzles
• overthrows
• routs
• drubbings
• beatings
• whippings
• trimmings
• nonsuccesses
• lickings
• losses
• shellackings
• plasterings
• lumps

Dissimilar Words

• victories
• wins
• successes
• triumphs
• achievements
• accomplishments
• sweeps
• blowouts
• landslides
• runaways
• romps
• cakewalks
• walkovers
• walkaways

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of whitewashes

Verb

Burns, who is Black, also pushed back on criticisms that the state’s new Black history curriculum whitewashes the history of slavery and oppression in America. — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026

The biography is presented as a clear-eyed and evenhanded examination of Reid’s complex legacy that neither whitewashes his methods nor diminishes his accomplishments. — Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026