whitewashing

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"whitewashing" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“whitewashing” is uncommon English (frequency #53,338 among 12,113 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,338
frequency rank, English
12,113
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The application of whitewash.

Key facts for whitewashing
PropertyValue
Headwordwhitewashing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Frequency rank#53,338
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “whitewashing” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). whitewashing lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

whitewashing is uncommon English at frequency #53,338 among 12,113 “W” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for whitewashing in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From whitewash + -ing. The correct English form is whitewashing, spelled W-H-I-T-E-W-A-S-H-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The application of whitewash.
  2. 2
    The effacement of errors or bad actions.
  3. 3
    The process of whitewashing, of making over (a person or character, a group, an event, etc) so that it is or seems more white (Caucasian), for example by applying makeup to a person, or by covering over the participation of non-whites in an event and focusing on only white participation.

Etymology

From whitewash + -ing.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "whitewashing"?
"whitewashing" is spelled W-H-I-T-E-W-A-S-H-I-N-G.
What does "whitewashing" mean?
As a noun, "whitewashing" means: The application of whitewash.
What is the origin of the word "whitewashing"?
From whitewash + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “whitewashing”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-H-I-T-E-W-A-S-H-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list