Meaning of white lie in English
(Definition of white lie from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
white lie | American Dictionary
Examples of white lie
white lie
Sometimes they may get confused as to what is a white lie and what is a black one.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Her white lie unknowingly thrust her into a major storyline.
The goal may even warrant engaging in a "white lie".
While his little white lie allows him the chance for a secret outing, it comes with a heavy price.
Some people, mostly children, also use the gesture to excuse their telling of a white lie.
A young woman's little white lie leads to unforeseen complications.
Some "white lies" are not dishonest at all, and some would be borderline cases.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
And white lies at this point are entirely moral.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
He takes refuge with a white lie.
I am not one of those who believe that there are three grades of untruth: white lies, lies, and statistics.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
She is a little vain, a little ambitious, a little selfish, a little shallow, and frivolous, a little given to white lies.
They are often white lies that spare another's feelings, reflect a pro-social attitude, and make civilized human contact possible.
He is often fantasizing and imagining nearly impossible situations, and telling little white lies.
White lies are also considered to be used for greater good.
This means that falcons can not even make white lies for the comfort of others, possibly at the risk of their lives.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Translations of white lie
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masum yalan, beyaz yalan, zararsız yalan…
pieux mensonge…
onschuldige leugen…
zbožná lež…
hvid løgn…
kebohongan kecil…
การโกหกที่ไม่มีอันตราย…
lời nói dối có thể chấp nhận được…
niewinne kłamstewko, niewinne kłamstwo…
vit lögn…
bohong sunat…
die Notlüge…
hvit løgn…
брехня задля порятунку…
невинная ложь…