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variants or less commonlylily white
1
:white as a lily
lily-white sheets
2
a
:having or involving few or nopeople of color:lacking racial diversity
All too often, big-city cops live inlily-white enclaves like Simi Valley, California …—
Les Payne
Les PayneUnless the Saints hire a black coach …, the NFL will continue itslily-white string of hires …—Peter King
Peter KingMost disappointingly, the main cast remainslily-white.—People Weekly
People Weeklyb
:being or having extremely lightpigmentation of the skin
alily-white complexion
3
orLily-White orLily Whitedated,US politics:characterized by or favoring the exclusion of Black people especially from politics compareblack-and-tansense 2
4
:lacking faults or imperfections:irreproachable,pure
But Malcolm X has survived the gantlet of historical reassessment. A new generation responds to his principled rage precisely because he isn'tlily white and goody-two-shoes.—Peter Rainer
Peter Rainervariants orlily white
plural lily-whites or lily whites
1
:something that is white
He is a rock-solid, card-carrying free spirit, a young man who wears black tennis shoes in a sport that loves itslily whites …—Bill Dwyre
Bill Dwyre2
usuallyLily-White orLily White plural Lily-Whites or Lily Whites,dated,US politics:a member of a political organization favoring the exclusion of Black people
A lifelong Republican in the tradition of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, [Norris Wright] Cuney fought a decades-long battle with the "Lily-Whites," Texas Republicans obsessed with driving African Americans out of the party.—Joe Holley
Joe HolleyKnown asLily Whites in newspaper headlines, the segregationists maneuvered to exclude Black people from roles of significance.—Jack Schnedler
Jack SchnedlerSynonyms
Examples oflily-white in a Sentence
Adjective the state's lieutenant governor was the only member of the administration who could claim to have remainedlily-white during the scandal
Recent Examples on the WebEssence, 17 Oct. 2024To the naked eye, the sport’slily-whitefacade is deeply pervasive.—Essence, 17 Oct. 2024The suburbs have long and deep histories of racial exclusion, creating thelily-whiteneighborhoods that benefited generations of white families.—Becky Nicolaides / Made By History,TIME, 15 Aug. 2024Riding was alily-whitesport there, too, but there wasn’t the same kind of ceiling on what was possible for a Black man.—Ryan Lenora Brown,Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2024His appearances on otherwiselily-whiteTV programs such as the Donna Reed Show, Bewitched, or the Ed Sullivan Show, played a landmark role in the culture.—Sean Gregory,TIME, 19 June 2024Follow Thomas through thelily-whitehalls of his suburban school that contrasted sharply with his urban neighborhood, trying to reconcile his sexuality with the Christianity that raised him, the exhaustion of code-switching, covering the 2016 election and everything that came after.—Lizz Schumer,Peoplemag, 30 May 2024These crowds heckled her during performances and complained to promoters about the invasion of a previouslylily-whitespace.—Kimberly Bryant,Essence, 29 Mar. 2024The main protagonist, Audrey (Ashley Park), a successful lawyer who was adopted from China by a White American couple, has been best friends with Lolo (Sherry Cola) since childhood, bonding over being two of the few Asians in their almostlily-whitehometown.—Olivia McCormack,Washington Post, 5 July 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.Send us feedback.
Adjective
To the naked eye, the sport’slily-white facade is deeply pervasive.—Essence, 17 Oct. 2024To the naked eye, the sport’slily-whitefacade is deeply pervasive.—Essence, 17 Oct. 2024The suburbs have long and deep histories of racial exclusion, creating thelily-whiteneighborhoods that benefited generations of white families.—Becky Nicolaides / Made By History,TIME, 15 Aug. 2024Riding was alily-whitesport there, too, but there wasn’t the same kind of ceiling on what was possible for a Black man.—Ryan Lenora Brown,Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2024His appearances on otherwiselily-whiteTV programs such as the Donna Reed Show, Bewitched, or the Ed Sullivan Show, played a landmark role in the culture.—Sean Gregory,TIME, 19 June 2024Follow Thomas through thelily-whitehalls of his suburban school that contrasted sharply with his urban neighborhood, trying to reconcile his sexuality with the Christianity that raised him, the exhaustion of code-switching, covering the 2016 election and everything that came after.—Lizz Schumer,Peoplemag, 30 May 2024These crowds heckled her during performances and complained to promoters about the invasion of a previouslylily-whitespace.—Kimberly Bryant,Essence, 29 Mar. 2024The main protagonist, Audrey (Ashley Park), a successful lawyer who was adopted from China by a White American couple, has been best friends with Lolo (Sherry Cola) since childhood, bonding over being two of the few Asians in their almostlily-whitehometown.—Olivia McCormack,Washington Post, 5 July 2023Word History
Rhymes forlily-white
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Cite this Entry
“Lily-white.”Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lily-white. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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