burnishing

verb

present participle of burnish
as in polishing
to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure burnished the floor of the ballroom to a soft luster

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of burnishing The Obama Presidential Center opening June 18 also bodes well for tourism, both in burnishing the city’s image and creating a new attraction to draw domestic and international visitors to Chicago, Reynolds said. — Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2026 Murdaugh’s father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather were each elected as top prosecutors in the region, burnishing a family reputation that eventually crumbled. — Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 13 May 2026 Shapiro brushed off questions — and Republican criticism — about burnishing his credentials for a White House run. — CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026 The Wolverines lost to Duke, burnishing the Blue Devils’ resume. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026 He became known for poaching clients, extracting heroic sums for their work, and burnishing their reputations abroad. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 Meghan signed with talent agency WME in April 2023, in hopes of burnishing her profile in the business. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026 And Willard’s overt emphasis on velocity led to serious gains in Boston, with the Red Sox burnishing their reputation for pitching development during his two years there. — Tim Britton, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026 The legacy of the Milan Cortina Winter Games is both physical, in new facilities and infrastructure, and intangible, burnishing Milan’s global image. — Colleen Barry, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burnishing
  1. polishing
  2. rubbing
  3. smoothing
Verb
  • Live Edit, Video Capture, and Formats Snap Pro 26 continues to build on past iterations' strengths by keeping what worked and further polishing it.
    — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Founders often spend too much time polishing the story when skeptical early adopters are looking for evidence of execution.
    — Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of polishing
Verb
  • Rubbing Alcohol Head to the drug store for a bottle of 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to clean windows.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The redyed fabrics showed uniform color uptake and washing and rubbing fastness comparable to the reference fabric, according to the study.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of rubbing
Verb
  • That said, the evolution aspect of the formula is in its skin-loving ingredients like peptides, niacinamide, and microgreens for skin-smoothing and oil-balancing benefits.
    — Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The lightweight formula pairs olive, argan, jojoba, sunflower, and safflower oils with smoothing silicones to calm frizz and boost shine.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of smoothing

Browse Nearby Words

burnishes
burnishing
burn one's ears
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Cite this Entry

“Burnishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burnishing. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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