burnish


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bur·nish

 (bûr′nĭsh)
tr.v. bur·nished, bur·nish·ing, bur·nish·es
1. To make smooth or glossy by rubbing; polish.
2. To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.
3. To improve or make more impressive: achievements that burnished her reputation.
n.
A smooth glossy finish or appearance; luster.

[Middle English burnishen, from Old French burnir, burniss-, variant of brunir, from brun, shining, of Germanic origin; see bher- in Indo-European roots.]

bur′nish·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

burnish

(ˈbɜːnɪʃ)
vb
(Art Terms) to make or become shiny or smooth by friction; polish
n
(Art Terms) a shiny finish; lustre
[C14 burnischen, from Old French brunir to make brown, from brun brown]
ˈburnishable adj
ˈburnisher n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bur•nish

(ˈbɜr nɪʃ)
v.t.
1. to polish (a surface) by friction.
2. to make smooth and bright, esp. by rubbing with a tool.
n.
3. brightness; luster.
[1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French burniss-, Middle French bruniss- (long s. of burnir,brunir to darken, polish) <brun- brown]
bur′nish•er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

burnish


Past participle: burnished
Gerund: burnishing

Imperative
burnish
burnish
Present
I burnish
you burnish
he/she/it burnishes
we burnish
you burnish
they burnish
Preterite
I burnished
you burnished
he/she/it burnished
we burnished
you burnished
they burnished
Present Continuous
I am burnishing
you are burnishing
he/she/it is burnishing
we are burnishing
you are burnishing
they are burnishing
Present Perfect
I have burnished
you have burnished
he/she/it has burnished
we have burnished
you have burnished
they have burnished
Past Continuous
I was burnishing
you were burnishing
he/she/it was burnishing
we were burnishing
you were burnishing
they were burnishing
Past Perfect
I had burnished
you had burnished
he/she/it had burnished
we had burnished
you had burnished
they had burnished
Future
I will burnish
you will burnish
he/she/it will burnish
we will burnish
you will burnish
they will burnish
Future Perfect
I will have burnished
you will have burnished
he/she/it will have burnished
we will have burnished
you will have burnished
they will have burnished
Future Continuous
I will be burnishing
you will be burnishing
he/she/it will be burnishing
we will be burnishing
you will be burnishing
they will be burnishing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been burnishing
you have been burnishing
he/she/it has been burnishing
we have been burnishing
you have been burnishing
they have been burnishing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been burnishing
you will have been burnishing
he/she/it will have been burnishing
we will have been burnishing
you will have been burnishing
they will have been burnishing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been burnishing
you had been burnishing
he/she/it had been burnishing
we had been burnishing
you had been burnishing
they had been burnishing
Conditional
I would burnish
you would burnish
he/she/it would burnish
we would burnish
you would burnish
they would burnish
Past Conditional
I would have burnished
you would have burnished
he/she/it would have burnished
we would have burnished
you would have burnished
they would have burnished
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.burnish - the property of being smooth and shinyburnish - the property of being smooth and shiny
smoothness - a texture without roughness; smooth to the touch; "admiring the slim smoothness of her thighs"; "some artists prefer the smoothness of a board"
radiancy, refulgence, refulgency, shine, effulgence, radiance - the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
French polish - the glaze produced by repeated applications of French polish shellac
glaze - a glossy finish on a fabric
Verb1.burnish - polish and make shiny; "buff the wooden floors"; "buff my shoes"
polish, smooth, smoothen, shine - make (a surface) shine; "shine the silver, please"; "polish my shoes"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

burnish

verb
1. improve, enhance, brighten, refine, cultivate, brush up, touch up, emend The company badly needs a president who can burnish its image.
2. polish, shine, buff, brighten, rub up, furbish His shoes were burnished, his shirt perfectly pressed.
polish scratch, graze, scuff, abrade
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

burnish

verb
To give a gleaming luster to, usually through friction:
noun
A radiant brightness or glow, usually due to light reflected from a smooth surface:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَصْقُلُ، يُلَمِّعُ المَعادِن
leštit
polerepudse
fényesre csiszol
fægja
blizgintinublizgintinupoliruotipoliruoti
pulētspodrināt
cilalamakparlatmak

burnish

[ˈbɜːnɪʃ] VT
1. [+ metal] → bruñir
2. (fig) [+ image] → mejorar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

burnish

[ˈbɜːrnɪʃ] vtpolir
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

burnish

vt metalpolieren; (fig) imageaufpolieren
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

burnish

[ˈbɜːnɪʃ] vtbrunire
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

burnish

(ˈbəːniʃ) verb
to make (metal) bright by polishing. They burnished the silver.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Charlotte would burnish up past foolishness, and this might upset her nerves.
But one transparent blue morning, when a stillness almost preternatural spread over the sea, however unattended with any stagnant calm; when the long burnished sun-glade on the waters seemed a golden finger laid across them, enjoining some secresy; when the slippered waves whispered together as they softly ran on; in this profound hush of the visible sphere a strange spectre was seen by Daggoo from the main-mast-head.
Others polished the blade until all the rust was removed and it glistened like burnished silver.
She was hatless, but heavy braids of burnished hair, the hue of ripe wheat, were twisted about her head like a coronet; her eyes were blue and star-like; her figure, in its plain print gown, was magnificent; and her lips were as crimson as the bunch of blood-red poppies she wore at her belt.
It seemed really to the little maiden as though she were sitting before a large iron stove, with burnished brass feet and a brass ornament at top.
To me he was unweariedly kind, and always glad to see me in the galley, which he kept as clean as a new pin, the dishes hanging up burnished and his parrot in a cage in one corner.
The captain resumed standing in contemplation before that smiling dead man, who seemed to have burnished his last thought, to give his best friend, the man he had loved next to Raoul, a gracious welcome even beyond life.
Prince Edward was the first of the royal party to take the field, and as he issued from the castle with his gallant company, banners and pennons streaming in the breeze and burnished armor and flashing blade scintillating in the morning sunlight, he made a gorgeous and impressive spectacle as he hurled himself upon the Londoners, whom he had selected for attack because of the affront they had put upon his mother that day at London on the preceding July.
But Menelaus reassured him and said, "Take heart, and do not alarm the people; the arrow has not struck me in a mortal part, for my outer belt of burnished metal first stayed it, and under this my cuirass and the belt of mail which the bronze-smiths made me."
Then Sir Richard had the packs laid upon the ground and opened, whereupon a great shout went up that made the forest ring again, for lo, there were tenscore bows of finest Spanish yew, all burnished till they shone again, and each bow inlaid with fanciful figures in silver, yet not inlaid so as to mar their strength.
There was a steel head-piece, a cuirass, a gorget and greaves, with a pair of gauntlets and a sword hanging beneath; all, and especially the helmet and breastplate, so highly burnished as to glow with white radiance, and scatter an illumination everywhere about upon the floor.
Samson offered him one, as he knew a friend of his who had it would not refuse it to him, though it was more dingy with rust and mildew than bright and clean like burnished steel.