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

• 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。
• But in this sense, what does the term a white lie mean?
  善意的谎言是什么意思呢？
• Okay, so you caught me in a small white lie for pedagogical sake.
  好的，所以你捕捉到我，以教育目的用了个善意的谎言。
• You told a white lie when you said she was cute.
  当你说她可爱时，你撒了一个无恶意的谎言。
• Can't you just tell a small white lie so you don't hurt his feelings?
  我知道不容易，可你那么聪明我相信你一定能回答出来。
• But mama said it wasjust a little white lie.
  但妈妈说一些大话不要紧。
• 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。
• 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。
• I cannot shake my dependency on the white lie, because I was brought up to be nice.
  我不会让善意的谎言动摇了我的诚信，因为我从小就被教育要成为一个好人。
• White lie accomplishes some positive good or at least avoids some evil.
  『善意的谎言完成某一正面好或至少避免某一罪恶』。