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

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etiolated plants look sickly

}

Antonyms: blacken

2 whitewash, gloze, gloss, *palliate, extenuate

Analogous words: see those at WHITEWASH