lily-white
1 of 2adjective
ˈli-lē-ˈ(h)wīt 
variants or less commonly lily white
1
: white as a lily
lily-white sheets
2
a
: having or involving few or no people of color : lacking racial diversity
All too often, big-city cops live in lily-white enclaves like Simi Valley, California …
Les Payne
Les PayneUnless the Saints hire a black coach …, the NFL will continue its lily-white string of hires … Peter King
Peter KingMost disappointingly, the main cast remains lily-white. People Weekly
People Weekly b
: being or having extremely light pigmentation of the skin
a lily-white complexion
3
or Lily-White or Lily White, dated, US politics : characterized by or favoring the exclusion of Black people especially from politics compare black-and-tan sense 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't lily white and goody-two-shoes. Peter Rainer
Peter Rainerlily-white
2 of 2noun
variants or lily 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 its lily whites … Bill Dwyre
Bill Dwyre2
usually Lily-White or Lily 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 as Lily Whites in newspaper headlines, the segregationists maneuvered to exclude Black people from roles of significance. Jack Schnedler
Jack Schnedler
Synonyms
Adjective
- blameless
- cleanhanded
- clear
- faultless
- guiltless
- impeccable
- inculpable
- innocent
- irreproachable
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1
lily-white
adjective
as in innocent
free from guilt or blame the state's lieutenant governor was the only member of the administration who could claim to have remained lily-white during the scandal Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- innocent
- blameless
- irreproachable
- guiltless
- faultless
- acquitted
- impeccable
- clear
- ethical
- inculpable
- moral
- cleanhanded
- in the clear
- cleared
- virtuous
- exonerated
- righteous
- upright
- law-abiding
- vindicated
- absolved
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- guilty
- culpable
- punishable
- accused
- impeachable
- indictable
- blameworthy
- blamable
- condemned
- censurable
- convicted
- shamefaced
- hangdog
- indicted
- impeached
- shamed
- unethical
- unethically
- unetymologic
- unetymological
- unevadable
- unevadably
- unevaluated
- unevangelical
- unevaporate
- unevaporated
- uneven
- uneven bars
- uneven parallel bars
- uneven-aged
- unevener
- unevenest
- unevenly
- unevenness
- unevennesses
- uneventful
- uneventfully
- uneventfulness
- uneventfulnesses
- unevoked
- unevolved