white as a sheet
Drained of color
White as a sheet describes someone whose face has gone extremely pale, usually from shock, fear, or sudden illness.
The comparison is to white bedsheets or paper.
When she heard the news, she went white as a sheet.
The phrase emphasizes visible, dramatic pallor—the kind that makes others ask if you're all right.
- bloodlessWithout shedding any gore
- wanPale and unwell-looking
- pallidUnhealthily lacking color
- blanchedMade white by heat
- paperPressed pulp for writing
ghost · pale as death · cadaverous · terrified · pale · ashen · corpse-like · washed-out · chalky · cold sweat · haggard · scared stiff · scared to death · shock · clammy · sickly · drawn · frightened
- appearance idiomsall dolled up, dolled up, done up, dressed to kill, dressed to the nines
emotional/physical state indicated
white as a sheetrobust
Strong and durable
in the pink · hale and hearty · fit as a fiddle · apoplectic · blushing
white, sheet, whiten, whitish, whiter, whiteness, whitened, sheeting, whitest