[syn: bleach, bleach out, decolor, decolour, decolorize, decolourize, decolorise, decolourise, discolorize, discolourise, discolorise]
2. make whiter or lighter;
- Example: "bleach the laundry"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bleach \Bleach\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bleached; p. pr. & vb. n.
Bleaching.] [OE. blakien, blechen, v. t. & v. i., AS.
bl[=a]cian, bl?can, to grow pale; akin to Icel. bleikja, Sw.
bleka, Dan. blege, D. bleeken, G. bleichen, AS. bl[=a]c pale.
See Bleak, a.]
To make white, or whiter; to remove the color, or stains,
from; to blanch; to whiten.
[1913 Webster]
The destruction of the coloring matters attached to the
bodies to be bleached is effected either by the action
of the air and light, of chlorine, or of sulphurous
acid. --Ure.
[1913 Webster]
Immortal liberty, whose look sublime
Hath bleached the tyrant's cheek in every varying
clime. --Smollett.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Bleach \Bleach\, v. i.
To grow white or lose color; to whiten.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
bleach
n 1: the whiteness that results from removing the color from
something; "a complete bleach usually requires several
applications"
2: an agent that makes things white or colorless [syn:
bleaching agent, bleach, blanching agent, whitener]
3: the act of whitening something by bleaching it (exposing it
to sunlight or using a chemical bleaching agent)
v 1: remove color from; "The sun bleached the red shirt" [syn:
bleach, bleach out, decolor, decolour,
decolorize, decolourize, decolorise, decolourise,
discolorize, discolourise, discolorise]
2: make whiter or lighter; "bleach the laundry"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
92 Moby Thesaurus words for "bleach":
achromatization, achromatize, besnow, blanch, blanching,
bleach out, bleacher, bleaching, bleaching agent, bleaching powder,
blench, bowdlerize, chalk, change color, chlorine, clean,
clean out, clean up, cleanse, clear out, decolor, decolorant,
decoloration, decolorization, decolorize, decolorizer,
decolorizing, delouse, depurate, deterge, dim, discolor,
discoloration, drain, drain of color, dry-clean, dull, dust,
dust off, etiolate, etiolation, expurgate, fade, fade out, fading,
freshen, frost, fume, grizzle, grow pale, hydrochloric acid,
hydrogen peroxide, lighten, lightening, lime, lose color, lustrate,
madder bleach, market bleach, nitrogen tetroxide, oxalic acid,
pale, paling, peroxide, purge, purify, reform, scavenge, silver,
sodium hypochlorite, sour, spruce, steam-clean, sulfur dioxide,
sulfuric acid, sweep out, sweeten, tarnish, tidy, tone down,
turn pale, turn white, wan, wash out, white, white sour, whiten,
whitening, wipe, wipe off, wipe out, wipe up