Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to whitewash
Participle: whitewashed
Gerund: whitewashing
Cognates
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Indicative
Present
| I | whitewash |
| you | whitewash |
| he;she;it | whitewashes |
| we | whitewash |
| you | whitewash |
| they | whitewash |
Perfect
| I | have whitewashed |
| you | have whitewashed |
| he;she;it | has whitewashed |
| we | have whitewashed |
| you | have whitewashed |
| they | have whitewashed |
Past
| I | whitewashed |
| you | whitewashed |
| he;she;it | whitewashed |
| we | whitewashed |
| you | whitewashed |
| they | whitewashed |
Pluperfect
| I | had whitewashed |
| you | had whitewashed |
| he;she;it | had whitewashed |
| we | had whitewashed |
| you | had whitewashed |
| they | had whitewashed |
Future
| I | will whitewash |
| you | will whitewash |
| he;she;it | will whitewash |
| we | will whitewash |
| you | will whitewash |
| they | will whitewash |
Future Perfect
| I | will have whitewashed |
| you | will have whitewashed |
| he;she;it | will have whitewashed |
| we | will have whitewashed |
| you | will have whitewashed |
| they | will have whitewashed |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | whitewash |
| you | whitewash |
| he;she;it | whitewash |
| we | whitewash |
| you | whitewash |
| they | whitewash |
Perfect
| I | have whitewashed |
| you | have whitewashed |
| he;she;it | have whitewashed |
| we | have whitewashed |
| you | have whitewashed |
| they | have whitewashed |
Imperfect
| I | whitewashed |
| you | whitewashed |
| he;she;it | whitewashed |
| we | whitewashed |
| you | whitewashed |
| they | whitewashed |
Pluperfect
| I | had whitewashed |
| you | had whitewashed |
| he;she;it | had whitewashed |
| we | had whitewashed |
| you | had whitewashed |
| they | had whitewashed |
Conditional
Present
| I | would whitewash |
| you | would whitewash |
| he;she;it | would whitewash |
| we | would whitewash |
| you | would whitewash |
| they | would whitewash |
Perfect
| I | would have whitewashed |
| you | would have whitewashed |
| he;she;it | would have whitewashed |
| we | would have whitewashed |
| you | would have whitewashed |
| they | would have whitewashed |
Imperative
| you | whitewash |
| we | Let's whitewash |
| you | whitewash |
Verbs conjugated like 'whitewash'
abash,
abolish,
abroach,
accomplish,
accroach,
address,
admix,
admonish,
ado,
adpress,
affamish,
affix,
alloo,
amass,
ambush,
anguish,
annex,
appeach,
appears,
approach, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'whitewash'
limewash,
whiplash,
white-ant,
whitelist,
whitemail,
bewash,
bluewash,
boil-wash,
ciswash,
eyewash,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. 1591, "to wash a building surface with white liquid," from white + wash. Fig. sense of "to cover up, conceal" is attested from 1762. The noun is recorded from 1697.
2. The noun is derived from white (adjective) + wash (noun). Noun sense 5.1 (“medicinal preparation for treating skin diseases”) is a calque of New Latin lōtiō alba (literally “white wash”).
3. The verb is derived partly from white (adjective) + wash (verb), and partly from the noun.
Verbs referencing "whitewash"
Norwegian
hvitvaske, Danish
hvidvaske.
Sample Sentences
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Near-synonym: limewash (often coinstantial)
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The houses looked very bright after they had whitewashed the whole neighbourhood.
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Provided that any such window or skylight may be whitewashed or shaded for the purpose of mitigating heat or glare. [1978, Commissioner for Labour, “Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Regulations 1978”, in Hong Kong Government Gazette, page B538:]
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If you appreciate historical accuracy and fair inclusion, don't go see this film [Stonewall (2015)]. If you don’t want to fuel the economy at another Hollywood attempt of whitewashing American history, don't give any aspect of this film a single dime or promotion. [2015 August 6, Ernest Owens, “Hollywood, Don’t You Dare Whitewash Stonewall”, in HuffPost, archived from the original on 16 Apr 2025:]
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Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled cuts the book's black characters, whitewashing its tale of the Civil War–era South. At this point, that's hardly a surprise. [subtitle] [2017 June 20, Corey Atad, “Lost in Adaptation”, in Slate, New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Jun 2025:]
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From Scarlett Johansson's heroine in the remake of the anime classic to Tilda Swinton as a Himalayan high priest in Doctor Strange, the film industry stands accused of whitewashing Asian characters and culture. Does it have a defence? [subtitle] […] Swinton replied that Dr Strange's writers were seeking to avoid the tired Orientalist stereotype of the "wise old Eastern geezer" or "Fu Manchu type". […] In other words, it was whitewashing in the name of diversity. [2017 March 31, Steve Rose, “Ghost in the Shell’s whitewashing: does Hollywood have an Asian problem?”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2025:]
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One of Naomi Osaka's sponsors has been forced to apologise after depicting the Japanese tennis star, who is half-Haitian, with pale skin in an advertisement. […] The company said it had not intended to "whitewash" the athlete, […] The ad, which also features her compatriot Kei Nishikori, drew criticism on social media, with many users accusing Nissin of whitewashing Osaka, whose mother is Japanese. [2019 January 23, Justin McCurry, “Naomi Osaka sponsor apologises for ‘whitewashing’ tennis star in ad”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2024:]
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Meanwhile, Sam, having been formally introduced to the whitewashed gentleman and his friends, as the offspring of Mr. Weller, of the Belle Savage, was treated with marked distinction, and invited to regale himself with them in honour of the occasion—an invitation which he was by no means backward in accepting. [1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers 43]
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In his sermon, the minister didn’t try to whitewash over the sins of his church.
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Novv, Sir, vvhen my Time comes, leſt they ſhou'd think it vvorth vvhile to handle my Memory vvith the ſame Freedom, I am vvilling to prevent its being ſo odly beſmear'd (or at beſt but flatly vvhite-vvash'd) by taking upon me to give the Publick This, as true a Picture of myſelf as natural Vanity vvill permit me to dravv; […] [1740, Colley Cibber, chapter I, in An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Cibber, […], London: […] John Watts for the author, →OCLC, page 3:]
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The books have yet to be written. But there is no question that Ms. Park [Geun-hye] and her Saenuri Party will whitewash the past to bolster the conservative cause at the expense of the education system and South Korea's international reputation as a democracy, and harm Seoul's attempt to hold Japan accountable for its wartime conduct. [2015 November 12, Se-Woong Koo, “South Korea’s textbook whitewash”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2025:]
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“It pisses me off to see Republican lawmakers continue to spread the lies and conspiracy theories regarding January 6, in an attempt to whitewash that day, because it’s politically inconvenient for them to acknowledge the reality of what happened,” [Michael] Fanone said during an MSNBC interview Friday. [2024 January 6, Nick Robertson, “Fanone says GOP lawmakers attempt to ‘whitewash’ Jan. 6 due to ‘politically inconvenient’ reality”, in The Hill, Washington, D.C.: Capitol Hill Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 Aug 2024:]
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Australia whitewashed the West Indies 3–0.