Definition of "whiten" []

• To make or become white or whiter, especially by bleaching. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "Some of the ire towards the hiring of Placas is the concern that she will "whiten" "Essence" up, thus destroying the inimitable girlfriend-to-girlfriend style, complexion, and tone of the magazine."
• "I hate when they try to "whiten" her up by making her blonde in movies."
• "Mainly because the lady who lent me the Santa Suit (which, by the way, was a cheap version of a real Santa suit ... check out the flimsy beard that doesn't have a single curl in it) told me that I had to "whiten" my eyebrows."