whiteface
noun
white·face
ˈ(h)wīt-ˌfās 
1
: a white-faced animal
specifically
: hereford
2
: dead-white facial makeup
a clown in whiteface
Examples of whiteface in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In Silent White Majority, the couple has white faces and no mouths; the same figures appear in whiteface with mouths in American Minstrels.
—
Patricia Failing, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2024
The film’s perfunctory storyline is less notable than its plethora of eccentric plot elements, such as Chief persuading Southpaw and Spooky, the latter wearing whiteface, to rob a bank disguised as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2024
Lincoln has to leave every day, go down to an arcade, sit there, put on whiteface, and be shot in an arcade by children.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 June 2023
This role is played by Matthew Hancock, who while delivering a sprawling monologue, applies whiteface in preparation of taking on the roles of both George and M’Closky.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2021
There is whiteface, redface and blackface, along with narrative flourishes delivered by a stand-in for the playwright himself.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2021
Black actors wearing whiteface makeup portray the White citizens of a small Southern town in the mid-1950s, where all of the city’s Black residents mysteriously disappear for one day.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2021
At the Rolling Thunder Revue, behind the mask of whiteface, his eyes were ablaze.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 5 June 2019
Did not expect this creepy Donald Glover whiteface plot...
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2018
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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about these examples.
Patricia Failing, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2024
The film’s perfunctory storyline is less notable than its plethora of eccentric plot elements, such as Chief persuading Southpaw and Spooky, the latter wearing whiteface, to rob a bank disguised as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2024
Lincoln has to leave every day, go down to an arcade, sit there, put on whiteface, and be shot in an arcade by children.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 June 2023
This role is played by Matthew Hancock, who while delivering a sprawling monologue, applies whiteface in preparation of taking on the roles of both George and M’Closky.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2021
There is whiteface, redface and blackface, along with narrative flourishes delivered by a stand-in for the playwright himself.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2021
Black actors wearing whiteface makeup portray the White citizens of a small Southern town in the mid-1950s, where all of the city’s Black residents mysteriously disappear for one day.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2021
At the Rolling Thunder Revue, behind the mask of whiteface, his eyes were ablaze.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 5 June 2019
Did not expect this creepy Donald Glover whiteface plot...
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2018
Dictionary Entries Near whiteface
Cite this Entry
“Whiteface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whiteface. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
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