whiten

[ hwahyt-n, wahyt-n ]
See synonyms for whiten on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with or without object)
  1. to make or become white.

Origin of whiten

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English whitenen;see white, -en1

synonym study For whiten

Whiten, blanch, bleach mean to make or become white. To whiten implies giving a white color or appearance by putting a substance of some kind on the outside: to whiten shoes. To blanch implies taking away natural or original color throughout: to blanch celery by growing it in the dark. To bleach implies making white by placing in (sun) light or by using chemicals: to bleach linen, hair.

Opposites for whiten

Other words from whiten

  • un·whit·ened, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use whiten in a sentence

  • The old Don Luis shows his whitened locks, scorned by his hypocritically impious son.

    Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile Gautier
  • Walking, half awake, Ida floundered among the boulders and through a horrible maze of whitened driftwood cast up by the stream.

    The Gold Trail | Harold Bindloss
  • His bare arms were whitened, his eyebrows were short, thick and high up on his forehead, and he carried a black snuff-box.

  • Then it whitened the sundial lawn, reminding us to take the wooden dial post in for the winter.

    The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton
  • It was an uncanny night; morning whitened the east; gray daylight stole into the woods, blotting the shadows to paler tints.

    In Search of the Unknown | Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for whiten

whiten

/ (ˈwaɪtən) /


verb
  1. to make or become white or whiter; bleach

Derived forms of whiten

  • whitening, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012