Whitish indicates various degrees of white, not a precise color; context determines its exact shade. The walls were painted a whitish color, appearing slightly gray in the dim light.
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Not Pure White
'Whitish' means the item is mainly white but mixed with other colors — it's not pure white. She wore a dress with a whitish hue that turned out to be light beige upon closer inspection.
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Subtle Hint
Use 'whitish' to describe something that has a subtle hint or trace of white. As the morning fog lifted, the mountaintops revealed a whitish glow from a light snowfall.