VARNISHING Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

varnishing

verb

present participle of varnish

as in polishing

to cover (something) with varnish He varnished the table.

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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 varnishing Like most ’80s metal heroes who briefly lost their way in the late ’90s, Megadeth have spent the 21st century varnishing their legacy with what’s tried and true, delivering eight LPs since 2001 that all basically sound the same. — Eli Enis, Pitchfork, 26 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for varnishing

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

Verb

Most record-breaking perovskite cells in labs rely on spin-coating or wet-chemical solution processing, which doesn’t scale well to large, textured industrial silicon wafers.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
Bring to room temperature before portioning and coating in cinnamon-sugar.

— Rick Martinez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of coating

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varnishes

varnishing

vary

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

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Synonyms of varnishing

verb

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