varnish

American  

[vahr-nish] / ˈvɑr nɪʃ /

noun

• varnishes
  plural

1. a preparation consisting of resinous matter, as copal or lac, dissolved in an oil oil varnish or in alcohol spirit varnish or other volatile liquid. When applied to the surface of wood, metal, etc., it dries and leaves a hard, more or less glossy, usually transparent coating.

2. the sap of certain trees, used for the same purpose natural varnish.

3. any of various other preparations similarly used, as one having India rubber, pyroxylin, or asphalt as its chief constituent.

4. a coating or surface of varnish.

5. something resembling or suggesting a coat of varnish; gloss.

6. superficial polish or external show, especially to conceal some defect or inadequacy.

   The play has a varnish of witty dialogue.

7. British. nail polish.

---

verb (used with object)

• varnishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• varnished,
  past participle,  past
• varnishing
  present participle

1. to apply varnish to; coat or cover with varnish.

2. to give a glossy appearance to.

3. to give an improved appearance to; adorn.

4. to give a superficially pleasing appearance to, especially in order to deceive.

   to varnish the truth.

   Synonyms:

   disguise, gild

varnish British  

/ ˈvɑːnɪʃ /

noun

1. Also called: oil varnish.  a preparation consisting of a solvent, a drying oil, and usually resin, rubber, bitumen, etc, for application to a surface where it polymerizes to yield a hard glossy, usually transparent, coating

2. a similar preparation consisting of a substance, such as shellac or cellulose ester, dissolved in a volatile solvent, such as alcohol. It hardens to a film on evaporation of the solvent See also spirit varnish

3. Also called: natural varnish.  the sap of certain trees used to produce such a coating

4. a smooth surface, coated with or as with varnish

5. an artificial, superficial, or deceptively pleasing manner, covering, etc; veneer

6. another word for nail polish

---

verb

1. to cover with varnish

2. to give a smooth surface to, as if by painting with varnish

3. to impart a more attractive appearance to

4. to make superficially attractive

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• varnisher
  noun
• revarnish
  verb (used with object)
• varnishy
  adjective
• well-varnished
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• varnishes
  plural

Participles

• varnishing
  present
• varnished
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• varnish
  simple
• varnishes
  simple
• have varnished
  perfect
• has varnished
  perfect
• am varnishing
  progressive
• are varnishing
  progressive
• is varnishing
  progressive
• have been varnishing
  perfect progressive
• has been varnishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• varnished
  simple
• had varnished
  perfect
• was varnishing
  progressive
• were varnishing
  progressive
• had been varnishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will varnish
  simple
• will have varnished
  perfect
• will be varnishing
  progressive
• will have been varnishing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of varnish

1300–50; Middle English varnisch < Middle French vernis, verniz < Medieval Latin vernicium sandarac < Medieval Greek bernī́kē, syncopated variant of Greek Berenī́kē, city in Cyrenaica

Explanation

Varnish is a shiny coating that's painted on a floor or piece of furniture and then dries clear and luminous. After refinishing an old oak chair, you might apply a coat of varnish. (Just don't sit on it until it's dry.) Varnish gives artwork, furniture, and other objects a finished, glossy look, and it also protects the surface. Most varnish is made from oil, solvent, and resin. You can also use the word as a verb, meaning "to coat with varnish." Many people decide to varnish their wood floors or their wooden kitchen counters. The Medieval Latin root word is vernix, "odorous or fragrant resin."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

varnish varnishes varnished varnishing

Nonfarmale’s transfer was deemed perfectly done, but discolored varnish was removed, holes and cracks were repaired, and, as is modern practice, restored areas were made congruent with the rest by delicate watercolor cross-hatching.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

The researchers envision the treatment being available in two forms: a daily-use toothpaste or a professional gel applied by dentists, similar to nail varnish.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2025

I cubed the steak and browned it hard in my cherry red Dutch oven, watching it cast off its fat and leave behind a savory varnish on the enamel.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2025

“It really felt like you were in Stradivarius’s workshop — the smells of varnish, there’s parts of violins everywhere. It’s like he was the Willy Wonka of the violin.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2024

This required thousands of brass nails and screws, the heads of which had to be patiently and laboriously filed down by hand before he could apply coats of marine varnish to the exterior.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Existing products such as fluoride varnishes and remineralization treatments can help strengthen remaining enamel or reduce symptoms, but they cannot effectively replace the original enamel structure.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Göransson has scored every Coogler picture since his 2009 student film “Locks,” and he never merely varnishes them with music in postproduction — he is truly Coogler’s co-author.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025

Another of the derailed cars was carrying ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, a clear, colorless liquid involved in the manufacture of products including varnishes, paint thinners, agricultural chemicals and industrial and household cleaners.

From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2023

The Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair is made of sustainably harvested wood finished with non-toxic, water-based stains and varnishes with no volatile organic compounds.

From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2021

Gamboge is used as a pigment, and as a colouring matter for varnishes.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

She rushed off to have her nails varnished at her favorite salon, which was destroyed in the mall strike but has reopened in a building nearby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

She told MPs that this included a “foetal skeleton posed under a glass dome, a human thigh bone turned into a cane, a human jawbone necklace and the varnished skull of a six-year-old”.

From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024

His family, who had arrived from the Philippines in droves to celebrate his 50th birthday, beamed from the first several rows of glossy, varnished pews.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2024

A quick way to see whether something is laminated or varnished is to tear it, she explained.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2023

It looked to me like somebody had cut the black Mary’s picture from a book, glued it onto a sanded piece of wood about two inches across, and varnished it.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Ironically, the 1974 varnishing and warm wax relining had helped keep the surface paint in place when the violent ripping happened.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2022

Shipwrights and volunteers will be recorking about 4,000 linear feet of seams on deck, conducting mechanical systems maintenance, painting and varnishing.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 28, 2022

And we applaud university officials who aren’t varnishing their words.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 31, 2019

A lot of painting, a lot of varnishing, like all the deck seams are cocked with pitch, and every once in a while one spring will leak and then it has to be redone.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2017

They went on with their work of sanding or varnishing the newly finished benches, but they didn’t talk.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Related Words

• gild
• lacquer