Wiktionary:Word of the day/2022/December 14

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burnish v

(transitive) To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine. Of a stag: to remove the velvet (“skin and fine fur”) from (its antlers) by rubbing them against something; to velvet. (figuratively) To make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected. (intransitive) To become bright, glossy, and smooth; to brighten, to gleam, to shine forth. (figuratively) To appear positive and highly respected. burnish n (countable) A shine of something which has been polished; a lustre, a polish. A shiny layer applied to a surface or other thing. (uncountable) The making of something bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; (countable) an instance of this; a burnishing, a polishing, a shining. [...]

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