
whitewashed
词源
源自中古英语 'whitwashen',由 'white'(白色)和 'wash'(洗涤、粉刷)组合而成。最初指用石灰水粉刷墙壁,后来引申为掩盖或粉饰的行为。
adjective
❶ 指被粉刷成白色的,通常用于描述墙壁、建筑等表面被涂成白色的状态。
“The old house was completely whitewashed to give it a fresh look.”
(这座老房子被完全粉刷成白色,以赋予它崭新的外观。)
“The fence was whitewashed every spring to protect it from the weather.”
(每年春天,栅栏都会被粉刷成白色以保护它免受天气影响。)
❶ 比喻性地指掩盖或粉饰问题、错误或真相,使其看起来比实际情况更好。
“The report was accused of whitewashing the company's financial troubles.”
(这份报告被指责掩盖了公司的财务问题。)
“The politician's speech whitewashed the failures of his administration.”
(这位政治家的演讲粉饰了他的政府的失败。)
verb
❶ 用白色涂料粉刷某物,使其表面变白。
“They whitewashed the walls of the classroom for the new school year.”
(他们为新学年粉刷了教室的墙壁。)
“She whitewashed the old wooden table to match her decor.”
(她将旧木桌粉刷成白色以搭配她的装饰风格。)
❶ 掩盖或粉饰问题、错误或真相,使其看起来比实际情况更好。
“The committee whitewashed the scandal to protect its reputation.”
(委员会掩盖了丑闻以保护其声誉。)
“The company whitewashed its environmental violations in the report.”
(公司在报告中粉饰了其环境违规行为。)
常见短语
whitewashed history — 指被粉饰或掩盖的历史,通常是为了隐藏不光彩或令人不安的事实。
“The textbook was criticized for presenting a whitewashed history of the war.”
(这本教科书因呈现了被粉饰的战争历史而受到批评。)
whitewashed version — 指经过修饰或简化的版本,通常是为了去除负面或不愉快的细节。
“The movie offered a whitewashed version of the true story.”
(这部电影提供了一个被粉饰的真实故事版本。)