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Definition of "eyewash" [eye•wash]

  • A solution, medicated or nonmedicated, applied as a cleanser for the eyes. (noun)
  • Informal Actions or remarks intended to conceal the facts of a situation. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "eyewash" in a sentence
  • "That is the sort of dense-skinned ignorance which makes one unspeakably angry -- the ignorance which, because it has heard of or read a letter from some brave-hearted youngster, making light of hardships for his mother's sake, therefore flies to the conclusion that everything written and spoken about the horrors of this war is humbug, and what the Army calls "eyewash" -- a big conspiracy to deceive the people who are not there."
  • "As for the newspaper talk about this being a ‘war for democracy’, it was plain eyewash."
  • "However Jammu student leaders spearheading protest demonstrations termed it mere 'eyewash' and demanded setting up of camp office in Samba."