white lie

noun

Meaning

A harmless or trivial untruth told to avoid hurting someone's feelings or to prevent an unnecessary argument.

Examples

She told a white lie about why she was late so she wouldn't upset her host.
Sometimes a small white lie is kinder than the blunt, painful truth.

Synonyms: fib, half-truth, prevarication

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white lie

noun

Pronunciation: /waɪt laɪ/

Definition

A harmless or trivial untruth told to avoid hurting someone's feelings or to prevent an unnecessary argument.

Examples

She told a white lie about why she was late so she wouldn't upset her host.
Sometimes a small white lie is kinder than the blunt, painful truth.

Synonyms of white lie

Words with a similar meaning to white lie:

Antonyms of white lie

Words with the opposite meaning to white lie:

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