What does whitewashed mean?
Whitewashed describes something coated with whitewash, traditionally a lime-based mixture used to give walls a clean white appearance. In figurative use, it describes an account, reputation, or organization that has been made to seem blameless, respectable, or clean, often by ignoring inconvenient facts or concealing wrongdoing. The term is therefore commonly critical: calling an investigation or report whitewashed suggests that it sanitizes the subject rather than examining it honestly. Because the expression can refer both to a physical surface and to a misleading presentation, it often carries a strong contrast between outward appearance and underlying reality. It is especially useful when describing political, institutional, or corporate accounts of a scandal, where the implication of deliberate distortion is important. The adjective and past-tense form are familiar in both British and American English, although the figurative use is more prominent in discussion of public affairs, business, and media coverage.
Covered with whitewash or made to appear clean, respectable, or blameless by concealing faults or wrongdoing.
"The committee’s whitewashed findings concealed several serious shortcomings."
The figurative adjective is usually negative and implies deliberate or systematic sanitization.
Past tense and past participle of whitewash; coated with whitewash or made to appear blameless or respectable.
"The editor tried to whitewash the report by omitting the damaging evidence."
As a verb form, it commonly occurs in the figurative sense of concealing wrongdoing or criticism.
A wall can be newly white; a scandal can only be whitewashed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does whitewashed come from?
Whitewashed is an English formation combining white with wash; the historical components derive from Old English words for the color and for cleansing or wetting a surface. The compound whitewash was established in early modern English for a white coating used on walls and other surfaces. It later acquired a figurative sense meaning to conceal faults or make a matter appear blameless, from which whitewashed developed. The word is an English compound rather than a direct borrowing, and its standard derivatives include whitewash and whitewashing.
Related word forms
How whitewashed is actually used
The literal sense is generally neutral or descriptive. The figurative sense is pejorative and implies that a criticism, scandal, or failure has been concealed behind a misleadingly favorable presentation.
Easily confused with whitewashed
Whitewash is the material or verb for applying a white coating, while whitewashed is the resulting adjective or past-tense form and is also commonly used figuratively for a sanitized account.