🥗 Washed before use 👖 Washed in factory

prewashed

1 3.5

Made with a treatment so fabric like jeans feels softer and does not shrink

adjective
/priːˈwɔːʃt/

: prelavado

The store offers prewashed towels that are ready to use without any additional laundry.

Examples

He was clad now in prewashed jeans, a designer paisley shirt, Italian boots, and skier sunglasses.

Fiction book (1998)
The prewashed cotton fabric is softer and less likely to shrink after the first wash.
She chose prewashed vegetables to save time on meal preparation.

Synonyms

washed

vsprewashed

23 1.0

Made clean with water or soap

is a factory finishing step aiming to reduce shrinkage and adjust appearance

preshrunk

vsprewashed

Specialized

1 3.9

Made so it does not get smaller when washed

focuses on fixing dye and softening rather than only preventing shrinkage

prefaded

vsprewashed

1 5.9

Clothing made to look faded and worn before you buy it

is a factory wet treatment that also fixes dye and reduces shrinkage

Antonyms

unwashed

9 1.0

Not washed with soap and water

How Treated

finished

Specialized

33 1.0

treated

7 3.2

prewashed

1 3.5

washed

23 1.0

raw

Specialized

2 2.4

Surface Forms

prewashed positive

Morphology

prewashed = washed (semi-transparent) = pre + wash + ed

The word still means 'washed beforehand', here specifically before sale as part of manufacturing.

Etymology

Prewashed comes from pre- 'before' and wash 'clean', like in preheat. In clothing it means the fabric was washed during making to keep it from shrinking and to make it soft or look a little faded, so the item feels and fits right from the first wear.