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
Synonyms
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
Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
For its part, the U.S. government promoted art that burnished its image as a free and prosperous country, hoping to motivate people behind the Iron Curtain to reject communism.
—Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 2024
Larry Culp has burnished his reputation as an industrial mastermind with his restructuring of General Electric GE -2.5%.
—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Fulfilling that mandate has never been more vital to Paramount Global, which needs the franchise to flourish while the company competes in a troubled streaming economy and burnishes its value for potential buyers.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
On the campaign trail, Harris is trying to cast herself as a leader and to burnish her bona fides, while connecting with voters who are less than excited about the Democratic ticket.
—Peter Slevin, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024
But Archer’s connection to Biden was invoked to burnish his credentials, according to court records.
—USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2024
Around the time Harman joined the council, the city was working to burnish its national image.
—Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024
Xi’s China has also used cultural tools to burnish its global image.
—Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 2024
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
The dark burnish brings deep savory notes, but even a hint of burn will make the whole mole bitter.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2020
The cream turns into a rich sauce and the cheese gets bubbly-brown; the greens towards the top burnish (kale chips!) but those underneath stay silky-soft.
—Sarah Jampel, Bon Appétit, 17 Dec. 2019
As each streetlamp passed, the burnish of its reflected light rolled up alongside them on the asphalt, like a dolphin curious about a new boat in her waters, and then veered away.
—Caleb Crain, Harper's magazine, 22 July 2019
Perhaps the open roasting caused the sugar to caramelize, adding a slightly bitter burnish that mitigated the awful sweetness.
—Mimi Sheraton, The Seattle Times, 25 Sep. 2018
The reds of radishes and tomatoes, the burnish of crisped bacon and bright greens of beans and hardy lettuces showed through milky dressings that coated each piece.
—Bonnie S. Benwick, charlotteobserver, 1 May 2018
A renovation, completed in late 2015, with updates this spring and summer to some of its signature restaurants, adds a new burnish to this destination, just as Mexico City itself is becoming a must-go spot, especially for the international jet set.
—Melena Ryzik, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2017
Verb
The firing comes at a crucial moment when the department is still struggling to improve security, lure back pre-pandemic customers and burnish its image ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games, which officials want to make car-free.
—Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
For its part, the U.S. government promoted art that burnished its image as a free and prosperous country, hoping to motivate people behind the Iron Curtain to reject communism.
—Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 2024
Larry Culp has burnished his reputation as an industrial mastermind with his restructuring of General Electric GE -2.5%.
—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Fulfilling that mandate has never been more vital to Paramount Global, which needs the franchise to flourish while the company competes in a troubled streaming economy and burnishes its value for potential buyers.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
On the campaign trail, Harris is trying to cast herself as a leader and to burnish her bona fides, while connecting with voters who are less than excited about the Democratic ticket.
—Peter Slevin, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2024
But Archer’s connection to Biden was invoked to burnish his credentials, according to court records.
—USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2024
Around the time Harman joined the council, the city was working to burnish its national image.
—Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024
Xi’s China has also used cultural tools to burnish its global image.
—Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 2024
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
The dark burnish brings deep savory notes, but even a hint of burn will make the whole mole bitter.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2020
The cream turns into a rich sauce and the cheese gets bubbly-brown; the greens towards the top burnish (kale chips!) but those underneath stay silky-soft.
—Sarah Jampel, Bon Appétit, 17 Dec. 2019
As each streetlamp passed, the burnish of its reflected light rolled up alongside them on the asphalt, like a dolphin curious about a new boat in her waters, and then veered away.
—Caleb Crain, Harper's magazine, 22 July 2019
Perhaps the open roasting caused the sugar to caramelize, adding a slightly bitter burnish that mitigated the awful sweetness.
—Mimi Sheraton, The Seattle Times, 25 Sep. 2018
The reds of radishes and tomatoes, the burnish of crisped bacon and bright greens of beans and hardy lettuces showed through milky dressings that coated each piece.
—Bonnie S. Benwick, charlotteobserver, 1 May 2018
A renovation, completed in late 2015, with updates this spring and summer to some of its signature restaurants, adds a new burnish to this destination, just as Mexico City itself is becoming a must-go spot, especially for the international jet set.
—Melena Ryzik, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'burnish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near burnish
Cite this Entry
“Burnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burnish. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share