Deceptive or misleading talk; statements designed to confuse or mislead, especially regarding environmental or ethical practices.
Compound of 'air' (meaning 'empty talk' or 'insubstantial') plus 'wash' (from Old English wascan, with an extended meaning of 'to cover up' similar to 'whitewash'). Emerged in the 2000s as parallel to 'greenwash.'
Just like 'whitewash' hides a dirty wall and 'greenwash' hides environmental damage with false eco-friendly claims, 'airwash' describes purely talk that sounds important but means nothing—it's language designed to vanish into thin air.
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