burnished; burnishing; burnishes
1
a
: to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing
burnish leather
burnishing his sword
b
: polish sense 3
attempting to burnish her image
2
: to rub (a material) with a tool for compacting or smoothing or for turning an edge
pottery with a smooth burnished surface
burnisher
noun
burnishing
adjective or noun
Examples of burnish in a Sentence
Verb
burnished the floor of the ballroom to a soft luster
Noun
after some much-needed polishing, the silver tea set had a brilliant burnish
Recent Examples on the Web
Colin Flint, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2025
During his tenure, the Italian brand continued to burnish its heritage as a jeweler while also growing into a serious watchmaker that regularly breaks world records for the thinnest watches with various complications.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 28 Mar. 2025
Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023
In William Faulkner’s Sanctuary, Temple Drake is taken to a brothel by a sinister bootlegger, but our version had no gothic burnish.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for burnish
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Verb
While one reading of Xi is that his rhetoric is in part a strategic move to burnish Chinese power globally, labeling Taiwan as a renegade or breakaway province is, for many, a clear indication of an intention to invade and bring the island within the geography of Chinese sovereignty.
—Colin Flint, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2025
During his tenure, the Italian brand continued to burnish its heritage as a jeweler while also growing into a serious watchmaker that regularly breaks world records for the thinnest watches with various complications.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
The storytelling has an unfussy classical burnish that feels nicely scaled to its time and place.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023
In William Faulkner’s Sanctuary, Temple Drake is taken to a brothel by a sinister bootlegger, but our version had no gothic burnish.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for burnish
Cite this Entry
“Burnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burnish. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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