Meanings
- alternativeuncountableAlternative form of openwashing.
As a university we have for the most part stayed away from organizations and efforts that we perceive as “fauxpen” or engaging in “open washing”.
2016, Ken Udas, Helen Partridge, Adrian Stagg, “Open Education Pratice at the University of Southern Queensland”, in Patrick Blessinger, TJ Bliss, editors, Open Education: International Perspectives in Higher Education2 more examples
Many cultural institutions making the move towards open practice struggle with the challenges of securing high-level 'buy-in' to support such initiatives; this case study also considers the institutional risks of 'open washing' and neglecting staff development in this area.
2017, Gill Hamilton, Fred Saunderson, Open Licensing for Cultural Heritage, page 159However, as with the environmentalism movement and the phenomenon of greenwashing, we are increasingly witnessing something that has been referred to as "open washing" (Openwashing, n.d.) or sometimes "faux-pen" (Searls, 2009). In simple terms, open washing involves a company using the language of open education to dress up what is otherwise a traditional, proprietary practice.
2020, Ke Zhang, Curtis J. Bonk, Thomas C. Reeves, Thomas H. Reynolds, MOOCs and Open Education in the Global South
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of open wash
Cite this entry
open washing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20washing
“open washing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20washing. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “open washing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20washing.
Source: open washing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.