Word · Frequency #23875
burnish
擦亮；磨光；(使)发亮
To make a surface smooth and shiny by rubbing it, or to become smooth and shiny.
- 1.
To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.
通过摩擦使(某物,如表面)变得明亮、光滑；抛光,擦亮
- 2.
Of a person's body: to grow large or stout; to fatten, to fill out.
指人的身体:变得肥大或丰满；增肥,充实
- 3.
Of a stag: to remove the velvet (“skin and fine fur”) from (its antlers) by rubbing them against something; to velvet.
指雄鹿:通过摩擦去除鹿角上的茸皮
- 4.
Of a thing: to increase in size; to expand, to spread out, to swell.
指物体:增大；扩展,膨胀
- 5.
To make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected.
使(某人或某物)显得积极和受人尊敬
- 6.
To become bright, glossy, and smooth; to brighten, to gleam, to shine forth.
变得明亮、光滑；发光,闪耀
提升形象；改善声誉；变大；膨胀；(人)发胖；磨掉（鹿角上的）茸皮；通过摩擦使(某物,如表面)变得明亮、光滑；抛光,擦亮；指人的身体:变得肥大或丰满；增肥,充实
In use
He burnished the old brass doorknob until it shone.
She burnished the wooden tabletop with a soft cloth.
The craftsman is burnishing the silver ring to a mirror finish.
burnish something
及物动词，本义为“抛光、擦亮”；引申可指“提升、改善（名声、形象等）”，如“burnish one's reputation”。
She burnished the brass doorknob until it gleamed.
她把铜门把手擦得闪闪发亮。
burnish something with something
用 with 引出摩擦所用的工具或材料。
The artisan burnished the silver with a soft cloth.
工匠用软布把银器擦亮。
Verb forms
base burnish · third person burnishes · -ing burnishing · past burnished · past participle burnished
规则动词，加-ed构成过去式和过去分词。
Common mistakes
Connections
Collocations
- burnish one's reputation
- 提升某人的声誉
- The company hired a PR firm to burnish its reputation.公司聘请了一家公关公司来提升其声誉。
- burnish one's image
- 改善某人的形象
- She donated to charity to burnish her public image.她向慈善机构捐款以改善自己的公众形象。
- burnish one's credentials
- 充实某人的资历
- He took an online course to burnish his professional credentials.他参加了一门在线课程来充实自己的专业资历。
- burnish a surface
- 擦亮表面
- Use a soft cloth to burnish the wood surface.用一块软布擦亮木制表面。
- burnish silver
- 擦亮银器
- She spent the afternoon burnishing the family silver.她花了一下午擦亮家里的银器。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
联想 burn（燃烧）：摩擦生热如燃烧，把表面磨得发亮→抛光、擦亮。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：正式或文学写作中描述打磨金属、木材等表面、抽象用法中描述提升声誉、形象等 burnish 的‘擦亮’和‘提升形象’义多用于正式或书面语境，日常口语中较少见；表示‘擦亮’时更常用 polish。
Grammar Note
既可作及物动词（擦亮某物），也可作不及物动词（自行磨光发亮）。
Pronunciation & Spelling
只有 furnish 与 burnish 同韵（/ˈɜːnɪʃ/）；tarnish 和 garnish 读 /ɑː/，banish 和 vanish 读 /æ/，finish 读 /ɪ/，均为形近但不同韵的词。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.