burnish

Fetched 2026-11-03 (live).

Synonyms: furnish, burrish

Antonyms: furnish, burrish

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Verb

1. To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.
   • In pottery, a stone is sometimes used to burnish a pot before firing, giving it a smooth, shiny look.
2. To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.
   • In pottery, a stone is sometimes used to burnish a pot before firing, giving it a smooth, shiny look.
3. Of a stag: to remove the velvet (“skin and fine fur”) from (its antlers) by rubbing them against something; to velvet.
4. To make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected.
5. To become bright, glossy, and smooth; to brighten, to gleam, to shine forth.
6. To become bright, glossy, and smooth; to brighten, to gleam, to shine forth.

Noun

1. A shine of something which has been polished; a lustre, a polish. A shiny layer applied to a surface or other thing.
2. A shine of something which has been polished; a lustre, a polish.
3. A shiny layer applied to a surface or other thing.
4. The making of something bright, shiny, and smooth by, or as if by, rubbing; an instance of this; a burnishing, a polishing, a shining.
   • With a good burnish, the old table should fetch a higher price.

Verb

1. Of a person's body: to grow large or stout; to fatten, to fill out.
2. Of a thing: to increase in size; to expand, to spread out, to swell.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.