- whiten
-
verb
(whitened; whitening)
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
to make white or whiter <snow whitened the hills> intransitive verb to become white or whiter
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
whiten
Look at other dictionaries:
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… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Whiten — Whit en, v. t. To make white; to bleach; to blanch; to whitewash; as, to whiten a wall; to whiten cloth. [1913 Webster] The broad stream of the Foyle then whitened by vast flocks of wild swans. Macaulay. [1913 Webster] Syn: See {Blanch}. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Whiten — Whit en, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Whitened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Whitening}.] [OE. whitenen; cf. Icel. hv[=i]tna.] To grow white; to turn or become white or whiter; as, the hair whitens with age; the sea whitens with foam; the trees in spring whiten… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
whiten — is the usual form of the verb in current usage in the meanings ‘to make white’ and ‘to become white’, but white is used in the expression whited sepulchre (meaning ‘a hypocrite’, in allusion to Matthew 23:27) and in the phrasal verb white out… … Modern English usage
whiten — [v] make or become extremely pale blanch, bleach, blench, chalk, decolor, decolorize, dull, etiolate, fade, frost, grizzle, lighten, pale, silver, turn pale, white, whitewash; concept 250 Ant. blacken, darken, dirty … New thesaurus
whiten — ► VERB ▪ make or become white. DERIVATIVES whitener noun … English terms dictionary
whiten — [hwīt′ n, wīt′ n] vt., vi. [ME whitnen < ON hvitna < hvitr, WHITE] to make or become white or whiter … English World dictionary
whiten — /hwuyt n, wuyt n/, v.t., v.i. to make or become white. [1250 1300; ME whitenen; see WHITE, EN1] Syn. 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… … Universalium
whiten — [[t](h)wa͟ɪt(ə)n[/t]] whitens, whitening, whitened V ERG When something whitens or when you whiten it, it becomes whiter or paler in colour. Her knuckles whiten as she clenches her hands harder. [V n] ...toothpastes that whiten teeth … English dictionary
Whiten — This interesting surname, found recorded in both England and Scotland, is of Anglo Saxon origin, and is locational, being a a dialectal variant of a number of various places called Whitton, such as Whitton in Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire,… … Surnames reference
whiten — UK [ˈwaɪt(ə)n] / US / US [ˈhwaɪt(ə)n] verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms whiten : present tense I/you/we/they whiten he/she/it whitens present participle whitening past tense whitened past participle whitened to become pale or white, or to … English dictionary
