whitewashing

A homeowner is whitewashing the old wooden fence in his yard.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • Literal meaning: "Whitewashing" refers to the act of applying a mixture of lime and water (whitewash) to a wall or surface to make it white.
   • Figurative meaning: "Whitewashing" also describes the process of deliberately presenting a negative situation, event, or person in a more favorable light, often by concealing or omitting unpleasant facts.

2. Verb (present participle):

   • To whitewash: To apply whitewash to a surface; or, metaphorically, to gloss over or cover up faults, crimes, or scandals.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The whitewashing of the old fence took all afternoon. (Literal application of white paint.)
  • The government's whitewashing of the corruption scandal angered the public. (Figurative covering up of wrongdoing.)

• Verb:

  • They are whitewashing the barn to protect the wood from the weather. (Literal painting.)
  • The company is whitewashing its environmental record by exaggerating minor improvements. (Figurative concealment of negative facts.)

Advanced Usage

• "to engage in whitewashing": to deliberately hide or misrepresent information.

  • The historian accused the textbook authors of engaging in whitewashing by omitting key events. (Accusation of intentional bias.)

• "whitewashing of history": the selective editing of historical records to remove or downplay negative aspects.

  • The film was criticized for its whitewashing of the colonial era's violence. (A biased, sanitized portrayal.)

Variants and Related Words

• Whitewash (noun/verb): the substance itself or the act of applying it; also the figurative act.

  • The whitewash was made from lime and water. (Substance.)
  • They tried to whitewash the scandal. (Verb, figurative.)

• Whitewashed (adjective): having been painted with whitewash; or, figuratively, having been presented in a falsely positive light.

  • The whitewashed walls gleamed in the sun. (Literal.)
  • The report is a whitewashed version of the truth. (Figurative.)

Synonyms

• Cover-up: an attempt to prevent something incriminating from becoming known.

  • The cover-up of the accident was worse than the accident itself.

• Sanitize: to make something more acceptable by removing unpleasant features.

  • The company sanitized its public image by firing the controversial manager.

• Gloss over: to treat something unpleasant lightly or evasively.

  • He glossed over his past mistakes in the interview.

Phrasal Verbs

• Whitewash over: to conceal or minimize the importance of something.
  • The official report tried to whitewash over the safety violations. (To downplay or hide.)

Related Idioms

• To paper over the cracks: to conceal problems or faults, especially temporarily.

  • The agreement merely papered over the cracks in the alliance. (Similar to whitewashing, but implies a superficial fix.)

• To sweep something under the rug: to hide something embarrassing or illegal.

  • They swept the financial irregularities under the rug. (A common idiom for concealment.)