white lie

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white lie

An often trivial, diplomatic or well-intentioned untruth.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

white lie

a minor or unimportant lie, esp one uttered in the interests of tact or politeness

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

white′ lie′

a minor or harmless lie; fib.

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Noun

white lie - an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite)

lie, prevarication - a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

Translations

كِذْبَه بَيْضاء

hvid løgn

Notlüge

mentirijilla

officieux

ártatlan füllentés

hvít lygi

bugia innocente

hvit løgnkvit løgn

nevinná lož

zararsız yalan

善意的谎言

white lie

n → bugia pietosa, bugia innocua

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

white

(wait) adjective

1. of the colour of the paper on which these words are printed. The bride wore a white dress.

2. having light-coloured skin, through being of European etc descent. the first white man to explore Africa.

3. abnormally pale, because of fear, illness etc. He went white with shock.

4. with milk in it. A white coffee, please.

noun

1. the colour of the paper on which these words are printed. White and black are opposites.

2. a white-skinned person. racial trouble between blacks and whites.

3. (also ˈegg-white) the clear fluid in an egg, surrounding the yolk. This recipe tells you to separate the yolks from the whites.

4. (of an eye) the white part surrounding the pupil and iris. The whites of her eyes are bloodshot.

ˈwhiten verb

to make or become white or whiter. She used a little bleach to whiten the sheets.

ˈwhiteness noun

ˈwhitening noun

a substance used to make certain things (eg tennis shoes) white again.

ˈwhitish adjective

fairly white; close to white.

ˌwhite-ˈcollar adjective

(of workers, jobs etc) not manual; (working) in an office etc.

white elephant

a useless, unwanted possession.

white horse noun

(usually in plural) a wave that has a crest of white foam.

ˌwhite-ˈhot adjective

(of metals) so hot that they have turned white. a white-hot poker.

white lie

a not very serious lie. I'd rather tell my mother a white lie than tell her the truth and upset her.

ˈwhitewash noun

a mixture of usually lime and water, used for whitening walls.

verb

to cover with whitewash.

ˈwhitewashed adjective

white winewine

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

She thought she had a good deal of the coquette in her, and I 've no doubt that with time and training she would have become a very dangerous little person, but now she was far too transparent and straightforward by nature even to tell a white lie cleverly.

View in context

The prevarication and white lies which a mind that keeps itself ambitiously pure is as uneasy under as a great artist under the false touches that no eye detects but his own, are worn as lightly as mere trimmings when once the actions have become a lie.

View in context

From getting children to finish their dinner to bribing them to be good, it seems there are lots of reasons parents tell little porkies, as LISA SALMON reveals ANY parents have told their child a white lie or two, usually with the best of intentions.

Sweet little lies

"A lot of people will say they were just teasing when they tell a white lie, but there's a very, very thin line between teasing and bullying, and you have to be awfully careful where you are on that," she explains.

Sweet little lies; From getting children to finish their dinner to bribing them to be good, it seems there are lots of reasons parents tell little porkies, as LISA SALMON reveals

Jeffrey asked if it was all right to tell a little white lie, and his mom assured him that it was, if it was fun and made people happy.

Hilly Pilly & the Little White Lie

We WHITE LIES WE'VE probably all told a white lie at one time or another, often with good intentions.

mind over matter

We two WHITE LIES WE'VE probably all told a white lie at one time or another, often with good intentions.

mind over matter WITH DR ELLIE MILBY; THE FOUR TYPES OF LYING

Newport Beach, CA, November 11, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Author Candi Sary announces the publication of her coming-of-age novel, "Black Crow White Lie" (ISBN: 978-0-9967587-2-7), which will be re-released by Blue Mary Books November 11, 2015.

Author Candi Sary Announces the Re-Release of "Black Crow White Lie," a Coming-of-Age Novel That is Now a Short Film by Chase Michael Wilson

I made a mistake and told what I considered to be a "white lie" and now my credibility has been damaged.

Solving problems with positive energy

Then pick a comfy spot on the couch and settle down for Little White Lie, a brand new feature length drama for RTE television.

TELLY Vision: WHAT'S UP DOC? - Must See.. Little White Lie RTE1 - Tomorrow, 9.30pm

After all the fanfare last year about Beringer Blass' low-cal wine for women, its creators have come clean: White Lie is no longer being produced.