noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The practice of presenting something as feminist, particularly a political action, in order to soften or downplay aspects of its reputation considered negative or as a justification for economic, political, xenophobic or racist goals. uncountable

   "Epilogue: from Islamophobia to purplewashing."

Verb

1. 1
   present participle and gerund of purplewash form-of, gerund, participle, present

Example

More examples

"Epilogue: from Islamophobia to purplewashing."

Etymology

From purple + -wash + -ing. The colour purple is often associated with feminism.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.