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 of burnish

Verb

• rub
• polish
• smooth
• shine

Noun

• gleam
• glow
• shine
• glint
• glare
• sheen
• polish
• gloss
• luster

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

Meghan signed with talent agency WME in April 2023, in hopes of burnishing her profile in the business. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026

And Willard’s overt emphasis on velocity led to serious gains in Boston, with the Red Sox burnishing their reputation for pitching development during his two years there. —Tim Britton, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026

Noun

Buchanan noted the hard bake, showing approval for the solid burnish on the outer layer. —Mario Cortez, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Mar. 2026

Fretting that the fabled bash was losing its luster, Guiducci ordered up some major burnishes. —Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026

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

Rhymes for burnish

• furnish

Kids Definition

burnish

verb

bur·​nish

ˈbər-nish

: to make shiny especially by rubbing : polish

burnisher noun