white lie
white lie — noun
1. a statement that is not true but is told to avoid upsetting someone, as a polite
a statement that is not true but is told to avoid upsetting someone, as a polite gesture, or to escape a minor social difficulty — the subject is harmless and the intention is kind, not selfish
Andrei told a white lie when he said he loved his aunt's strange soup.
tell + a white lie + when-clause
Hannah offered a white lie about her friend's haircut, calling it 'interesting' instead of saying it looked bad.
Beatrix told a little white lie about her age to get the student discount at the museum.
Eitan's white lie about having another appointment was a gentle way to end the long phone call.
Sofia told a white lie, saying the hospital food was good, to cheer up her grandmother.
- fib
an informal word for a small, unimportant lie, often used with children; less focused on the kind motive
- half-truth
a statement that mixes truth and falsehood; more deliberate and less motivated by kindness than a white lie
- malicious lie
a false statement intended to harm or deceive someone for selfish reasons
文法句型
tell + a white lie
tell + a white lie + about [topic]
用法筆記
Frequently found in the verb phrase 'tell a white lie', which is the most natural pattern for learners to use. The adjective 'little' is a common modifier ('a little white lie'). The term covers both cases where the speaker aims to spare someone's feelings and cases where the lie is about a harmless, trivial matter — these two motivations often overlap in real usage.