Word.ws English Dictionary

open-washing

open-washing is the alternative form of openwashing.

open-washing is the present participle and gerund of open-wash.

Meaning of openwashing

Noun

openwashing (uncountable)

  1. The act of claiming something is open (without proprietary licensing) when it does not meet all the criteria of openness.
    • Evgeny Morozov (2013) recently took issue with the seemingly ubiquitous presence of “open” initiatives in contemporary culture and pointed to the reading of “openness into situations and environments where it doesn't exist” as acts of “openwashing.” Yet, as Morozov also argues, a consideration of...2014, Suzanne tamang, Gregory T. Donovan, “Introduction: Media and Methods for Opening Education”, in The Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy, number 5

Questions about open-washing

What is open-washing the alternative form of?
Open-washing is the alternative form of openwashing.

Words near open-washing in the dictionary

  1. open-topper
  2. open-toppers
  3. open-wash
  4. open-washed
  5. open-washes
  6. open-washing
  7. open-weight
  8. open-wheel
  9. open-wheel racing
  10. open-work
  11. open/closed principle

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: open-washing (page history and authors); openwashing (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “open-washing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/open-washing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.