japanning

verb

present participle of japan
as in varnishing

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for japanning
  1. varnishing
  2. coating
  3. polishing
  4. burnishing
  5. rubbing
  6. glossing
  7. shining
  8. buffing
Verb
  • Like most ’80s metal heroes who briefly lost their way in the late ’90s, Megadeth have spent the 21st century varnishing their legacy with what’s tried and true, delivering eight LPs since 2001 that all basically sound the same.
    — Eli Enis, Pitchfork, 26 Jan. 2026
Definition of varnishing
Verb
  • Spray from top to bottom, coating the glass and screens evenly.
    — Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Instead of assessing the particle only as a whole, researchers used instrumented indentation to examine the response of its individual coating layers.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of coating
Verb
  • Running a raw, unedited Q&A shows the reality of the technology without a corporate PR team polishing the rough edges or hiding the structural failures.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Some jobs that previously relied on hand craftsmanship but can now be automated made the top 10, including patternmakers and grinding and polishing workers.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of polishing
Verb
  • The Obama Presidential Center opening June 18 also bodes well for tourism, both in burnishing the city’s image and creating a new attraction to draw domestic and international visitors to Chicago, Reynolds said.
    — Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2026
  • Murdaugh’s father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather were each elected as top prosecutors in the region, burnishing a family reputation that eventually crumbled.
    — Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 13 May 2026
Definition of burnishing
Verb
  • One juror was rubbing his eyes as Sullivan talked, and another was clasping and unclasping his hands in his lap.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Danger, Olivo, and Mosco had just eaten by the gazebo and Damaris was rubbing her pup’s head goodnight, about to go into the shack.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of rubbing
Verb
  • The easy-to-use glossing treatment, which should be applied to damp hair and followed by a blow dryer to activate the frizz-fighting alpha acids, is a semi-permanent smoothing spray that basically creates a water-resistant shield to prevent flyaways—even in the most humid of places.
    — Eva Thomas, InStyle, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Critchley, glossing Julian of Norwich, draws a distinction between seeing and seeing through creation, but this is a false dichotomy.
    — Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Definition of glossing
Verb
  • Another recent event brought members of TV’s current shining star into the Trekkie universe to put their spin on the same episode.
    — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Profitability is really shining, with big beats on operating income and EPS in the fourth quarter.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of shining
Verb
  • If the copper is heavily tarnished, let the toothpaste’s active ingredients work on the patina for ten minutes or so before buffing.
    — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Classes and skills lean into different styles of play; Astromech droids are entirely support-focused, generating AP (action points) and buffing the party, while the Assault is focused on heavy damage and drawing aggro.
    — Hayes Madsen, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of buffing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

japanned
japanning
japans
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Cite this Entry

“Japanning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/japanning. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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