white lie

英 [ˌwaɪt ˈlaɪ]

美 [ˌwaɪt ˈlaɪ]

n.  (尤指为避免伤害他人感情的)善意的谎言，小谎

牛津词典

noun

• （尤指为避免伤害他人感情的）善意的谎言，小谎
  a harmless or small lie, especially one that you tell to avoid hurting sb

柯林斯词典

• 善意的谎言
  If you refer to an untrue statement as awhite lie, you mean that it is made to avoid hurting someone's feelings or to avoid trouble, and not for an evil purpose.

英英释义

noun

• an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite)

双语例句

• You've probably felt the difference between a "little white lie" and what I think of as a black hole secret, the kind that absorbs and darkens everything around it.
  大概你已经体验过”小谎言“和那种我认为是”黑洞“的秘密（那种会吸入，并阴暗化它周围一切的秘密）这两者之间的区别了。
• I'd rather tell my mother a white lie than tell her the truth and upset her.
  我宁可向妈妈撒个小谎，也不愿把真相告她，让她心中不安。
• I told her a white lie when I said that I had to leave because I had a headache.
  我说我头痛必须先走，那是对她撒了个无伤大雅的谎。
• Would you want a white lie told to you?
  你想听到一个善意的谎言吗？
• Sometimes it saves a lot of trouble to tell a white lie.
  有时候撒个小谎会节省许多麻烦。
• Though I believe in telling the truth, I think a white lie is sometimes justified.
  虽然我认为应该说实话，但是我认为善意的谎言有时也是无可非议的。
• Even though Sarah's haircut was really ugly, James told her a white lie by saying it was a good change.
  虽然萨拉的发型真的很难看，詹姆斯对她撒了善意的谎言，说这是个很好的改变。
• But in this sense, what does the term a white lie mean?
  善意的谎言是什么意思呢？
• Who among us hasn't told a little white lie?
  我们中的谁没说过小小的善意的谎话？
• Most of us will probably admit to the occasional little white lie.
  大多数人或许都承认，我们偶尔说些善意的谎言。