burnish
American
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
burnishsimple
-
burnishessimple
-
have burnishedperfect
-
has burnishedperfect
-
am burnishingprogressive
-
are burnishingprogressive
-
is burnishingprogressive
-
have been burnishingperfect progressive
-
has been burnishingperfect progressive
Past
-
burnishedsimple
-
had burnishedperfect
-
was burnishingprogressive
-
were burnishingprogressive
-
had been burnishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of burnish
1275–1325; Middle English burnissh < Anglo-French burniss-, Middle French bruniss- (long stem of burnir, brunir to darken, polish), equivalent to brun- brown + -iss- -ish 2
Explanation
That seductive gleam on that Porsche behind the dealer's window? It's called a burnish, a gloss only achieved by loads of polishing. Likewise, you can burnish a resume by polishing it until it's perfect. A caution about usage: burnish in the physical sense is usually reserved for inanimate objects, not people — you usually wouldn't say that someone's appearance is "burnished to perfection" or that your freshly scrubbed face is burnished. But you could burnish a car, a suit of armor, or a copper kettle. Reputations are among the most common non-physical things to be burnished.
Vocabulary lists containing burnish
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The Scarlet Letter
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Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Each is interviewed separately, looking directly at us to burnish the intimacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The event is also an opportunity for Canada to burnish its reputation as a good place to do business after years of lagging investment performance.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Again, they know that they can burnish their reputation, maybe get an appointment at a better law school, right?
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
Zhang, who teaches students to race at a track on the outskirts of the city, hopes tourism will further burnish the city's biker reputation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
I sensed her weakness and spent most of class coming up with creative ways to burnish my status as class clown.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
A trade deal would be a huge relief but even without that, a US presidential visit after nearly a decade burnishes Xi's message – that China is open for business and to the world.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
In exchange, the work burnishes the firm’s reputation and serves as a draw for idealistic young associates.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2025
Brazil has approved the cultivation and sale of drought-tolerant genetically modified wheat, a major boost for the once taboo crop as global food supply fears and regional dry weather burnishes the lure of GMO.
From Reuters ● Mar. 4, 2023
Greg Kot burnishes his “dad-rock daily newspaper critic credentials.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2021
The sun so burnishes the midstream ribbon that the boat seems to float on an invisible element.
From Tropic Days by E. J. (Edmund James) Banfield
Director Metz and his cinematographer, Yves Bélanger, give the university the kind of burnished look familiar to Ivy League memoir films, but that’s something of a setup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Jones manages his superb cast with aplomb and cinematographer Wyatt Garfield evocatively captures lower Manhattan’s wintry, burnished glow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
In Sabina Hahn’s spare, watercolor illustrations, the pickle is a burnished emerald green with round eyes and no mouth—which makes it all the more remarkable when it begins to speak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
It also burnished the reputation of its low-key Northern Irish chief designer, 41, who was appointed almost exactly a year ago with the task of modernising all of Dior's fashion lines.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Swallows darted on and off the cliffsides far below, their burnished green backs and white tailspots flashing.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
And all were endorsed by Zohran Mamdani, the city’s Democratic Socialist mayor, burnishing his kingmaker bona fides.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
He understood the role of the press in communicating the Fed’s thinking and in burnishing his reputation.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
It is criticism like this, though, that make the resolution of the Thai-Cambodia war a rare win for Asean, with Trump's visit burnishing that success.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
Shares in Gucci-owner Kering gained more ground Thursday after sales at the fashion house beat expectations in the most recent quarter, lifting revenue at the parent group and burnishing hopes of a sustained turnaround.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
I stood at the window to admire the sunlight slanting over the golf course, and burnishing the bare trees on the distant hills.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
