as in polished
having a shiny surface or finish
a beautiful, buffed antique table
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in rubbed
to make smooth by friction
she learned to buff semiprecious stones in order to make her own jewelry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smoothed
to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure
the janitor buffed the lobby floor until it shone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of buffed
Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 7 Jan. 2026
The tips come in various shapes and lengths and are filed and buffed before being polished.
—Georgia Day, Vogue, 24 Nov. 2025
But the rough edges of the series haven't been buffed out.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
The main hatch is already open, a small mercy for my purposes, and my torchlight shines back on a wooden ladder, paint worn in the centre of each rung where the crew’s footsteps buffed it away.
—Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
Over a 10-month period, our editors—all with vastly different preferences for coverage, finish, and format—buffed and blended (and swept and stippled) their way through about 650 submissions.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Bungie has emergency buffed some things on the PvE reward side of the game, but larger changes are taking some time.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
Some scratches can be buffed out.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 7 Jan. 2026
The tips come in various shapes and lengths and are filed and buffed before being polished.
—Georgia Day, Vogue, 24 Nov. 2025
But the rough edges of the series haven't been buffed out.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Nov. 2025
The main hatch is already open, a small mercy for my purposes, and my torchlight shines back on a wooden ladder, paint worn in the centre of each rung where the crew’s footsteps buffed it away.
—Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
Over a 10-month period, our editors—all with vastly different preferences for coverage, finish, and format—buffed and blended (and swept and stippled) their way through about 650 submissions.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Bungie has emergency buffed some things on the PvE reward side of the game, but larger changes are taking some time.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buffed
Adjective
-
Jim Dickinson stepped in to produce and play a little piano, but Travis deemed the results too polished, too polite, too bourgeois.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Fulfillment, including renewal notices, tags, and reward cards, is managed by Pet Parent in a way that can help organizations provide a polished experience without maintaining separate logistics.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Johnson sighed and rubbed a hand over her head in relief.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Diners here can feast upon things like duck fat frites for brunch and espresso-rubbed steaks for dinner.—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In some ways, Bequia remains a secret, and as such, it hasn’t been overly developed, commercialised or smoothed into sameness.—
Rebekah Evans,
TheWeek,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Parish and Glasner smoothed things over somewhat at dinner at London’s Ham Yard restaurant on January 21.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Berry showcased a black version with a glossy finish, but there are also velvet versions of this Aquazzura sandal; Meghan Markle wore a velvet iteration at the Baby2Baby Gala in November.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Try coupling the seasonal shades with a glossy nude foundation for a refined effect.—
Calin Van Paris,
InStyle,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
By ignoring class as a factor in its characters’ lives, Bridgerton has often sanded away much of the underlying friction between them — and done the couples’ love stories a disservice in the process.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Earlier in the season, there was a minor controversy over whether the film’s changes to the source material — making its hero less explicitly racist and less complicit in the victimization of a Chinese laborer — sanded down the tale’s rough edges.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Bag a table outside to fully soak up the glistening ocean panorama, interrupted only by the occasional strutting peacock.—
Harriet Compston,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Before the 1945 season, there was a cartoon of him in the paper—Big Number 7 of the Rams—and there was his face, clean and glistening, under wavy hair and wearing a perfect smile.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The Justice Department filed the affidavit to a Georgia federal court for release to the public on the order of a federal judge, who instructed government lawyers to make redactions to shield the names of nongovernmental witnesses.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
-
That lawsuit, which was filed in Texas, sued Watson for $1 million in damages.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The leather upper looks sleek and classic while the insole has cushioning to provide extra comfort with every step.—
Olivia Dubyak,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Think sleek and cool layers and quietly assured outerwear via Khaite, Toteme, Susanna Chow, and La Ligne.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Buffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buffed. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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