Whitewashing

Quick meaning: Whitewashing is a noun meaning The application of whitewash.

Meaning

The application of whitewash.

More Meanings

1. (figuratively) The effacement of errors or bad actions.
2. present participle and gerund of whitewash
3. (derogatory) The process of whitewashing, of making over (a person or character, a group, an event, etc) so that it is or seems more white (Caucasian), for example by applying makeup to a person, or by covering over the participation of non-whites in an event and focusing on only white participation.

Example Sentences

While whitewashing remains a modern problem, it has a long history in American film: In the very first Hollywood movie, 1910’s In Old California, white actors played non-white roles.

The institution insulted history by peddling ludicrous whitewashings — describing the Watergate criminal conspiracy as a “coup” by Nixon’s political rivals fed by fake scoops purchased by the Woodstein investigative duo at The Washington Post.

Some persons are sincerely incapable of understanding that to denounce mud slinging does not mean the endorsement of whitewashing; and both the interested individuals who need whitewashing and those others who practice mud slinging like to encourage such confusion of ideas.

In both films we see the consolidation of a colonial power structure of Western saviour and African victims. [...] The director responds that 'the question doesn't even come up' when his whitewashing of black history in ancient Egypt is challenged. Scott and like-minded defenders of racism take the century-long Hollywood whitewashing of African history and heritage as normal. This [...] is now challenged through audience racism fatigue, alternative narratives of Africa, […]

Word Forms

• whitewashings

Synonyms for whitewashing

Depending on context, synonyms include whitewash.

Antonyms for whitewashing

Common opposites include blackwashing.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include hush up, exoneration, vindication, laundering, landscaping, beautification.

Related Dictionary Tools