verb
noun
Other Word Forms
- burnishable adjective
- burnisher noun
- burnishment noun
- unburnished adjective
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
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.
He understood the role of the press in communicating the Fed’s thinking and in burnishing his reputation.
From Barron's
But they helped to burnish the myth of intellectual genius that was also essential to his rise.
In the live-action category, a mixed bag of approaches — some inspired by classic literature — are burnished by inspired performances.
From Los Angeles Times
By the time Jackson declared his 1984 presidential campaign, he had burnished his foreign policy credentials.
From Los Angeles Times
Parents pay thousands of dollars and enlist college counselors to burnish their high-schoolers’ summer portfolios.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
