to whitewash the scandal
- phrasal verb
- /ˈwaɪtˌwɔʃ ðə ˈskændl/
:
blanquear el escándalo
- The company tried to whitewash the scandal by releasing carefully worded statements to the press.
Examples
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There was public outrage when they learned officials had tried to whitewash the scandal instead of accepting responsibility.
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They tried to whitewash the scandal with false reports.
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She accused the committee of attempting to whitewash the scandal rather than address the facts.
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Don't whitewash the scandal anymore!
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The company tried to whitewash the scandal by releasing carefully worded statements to the press.
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She accused the committee of attempting to whitewash the scandal rather than address the facts.
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There was public outrage when they learned officials had tried to whitewash the scandal instead of accepting responsibility.
Synonyms
314
3.7
To hide something so people cannot see or find out about it
44
7.3
To make documents or facts not true to deceive people
23
8.0
To make something sound better to hide problems
12
6.0
To hide bad facts to make something seem better
8
7.7
To hide a problem instead of dealing with it openly
7
8.2
To trick someone by hiding the truth
2
7.2
Stop people finding out about a mistake, crime, or embarrassing event
To hide problems or make them seem less serious
To keep secret wrong actions or mistakes from other people
Change facts on purpose to make something seem better
To make up a false reason to avoid blame
Antonyms
How Deceptive
- Formal
44
7.3
- Literature
111
7.5
- US
1
7.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning follows directly from the verb 'whitewash' (to gloss over or cover unpleasant facts) applied to the noun 'scandal' — the determiner 'the' is non-essential. The figurative extension from literal painting to metaphorical covering is a common, regular pattern and would be inferable by B1 learners who know the constituent words.
Etymology
Whitewash the scandal comes from the old practice of painting walls with whitewash, a cheap white paint used to hide stains and marks. Like that paint covering dirt, to 'whitewash' a scandal means to 'cover up' the truth instead of admitting it.