burnish

1 of 2

verb

bur·​nish ˈbər-nish 

burnished; burnishing; burnishes

transitive verb

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

burnish

2 of 2

noun

: luster, gloss

Synonyms

Verb

• buff
• dress
• furbish
• gloss
• grind
• polish
• rub
• shine
• smooth
• smoothen

Noun

• gloss
• luminance
• luster
• lustre
• polish
• sheen
• shine

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

Verb

And Democratic leaders used their opposition to Trump to burnish their liberal bona fides in the state, as well as to raise their national profiles; the most notable example is Gov. Gavin Newsom. —Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024

Some of the biggest actresses in Hollywood either cut their teeth or burnished their stardom in Brosnan’s four Bond flicks. —John Russell, Peoplemag, 12 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English burnischen, from Anglo-French burniss-, stem of burnir, alteration of Old French brunir, literally, to make brown, from brun

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1646, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

burnish

verb

bur·​nish

ˈbər-nish

: to make shiny especially by rubbing : polish

burnisher noun