- whiten
- whiten vb 1 Whiten, blanch, bleach, decolorize, etiolate can all mean to change from an original color to white or almost to white.To Whiten is to make white usually by the applica-tion or addition of something from without{
whiten shoes with pipe clay
}To blanch is to whiten by the removal or withdrawal of color{blanch almonds by scalding which removes the brown skin
}or by preventing it from developing{blanch celery by covering the stalks with earth, so as to exclude the sunlight
}To bleach is to whiten or lighten in color, especially by exposure to sun and air or by chemical processes{bleach linen by spreading it on the grass in the sun
}{bleach hair by use of peroxide
}Decolorize implies the deprivation of color (as by processes of bleaching or blanching)but does not carry as strong an implication of whitening as do bleach and blanch (decolorize a colored fabric by the use of chloride of lime)Etiolate is a scientific term used in reference chiefly to plants from which sunlight has been excluded with the result that the natural coloring of chlorophyll is not formed{etiolated plants look sickly
}Antonyms: blacken2 whitewash, gloze, gloss, *palliate, extenuateAnalogous words: see those at WHITEWASH
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.