as in gleam
brightness created by light reflected from a surface
after some much-needed polishing, the silver tea set had a brilliant burnish
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to rub
to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure
burnished the floor of the ballroom to a soft luster
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of burnish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 9 Aug. 2024
His storming of the Japanese Embassy in 1997 to free 72 hostages held by terrorists burnished his tough-guy image.
—Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for burnish 
Noun
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
Verb
Unlike reclassifying executive branch employees, passing rules outside the 60-day Congressional Review Act window, and racking up legislative wins to burnish his record, there are few things Biden can do to prevent Trump from making wholesale changes to the country’s foreign policy approach.
—Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 9 Aug. 2024
His storming of the Japanese Embassy in 1997 to free 72 hostages held by terrorists burnished his tough-guy image.
—Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for burnish
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.
Thesaurus Entries Near burnish
Cite this Entry
“Burnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burnish. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.
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