1
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。
擦亮；磨光；(使)发亮
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
擦亮；磨光；(使)发亮
To make a surface smooth and shiny by rubbing it, or to become smooth and shiny.
She burnished the brass doorknob until it gleamed.
她把铜门把手擦得闪闪发亮。
通过摩擦使(某物,如表面)变得明亮、光滑；抛光,擦亮
To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.
指人的身体:变得肥大或丰满；增肥,充实
Of a person's body: to grow large or stout; to fatten, to fill out.
指雄鹿:通过摩擦去除鹿角上的茸皮
Of a stag: to remove the velvet (“skin and fine fur”) from (its antlers) by rubbing them against something; to velvet.
指物体:增大；扩展,膨胀
Of a thing: to increase in size; to expand, to spread out, to swell.
burnish
Base
原形
burnishes
3rd person
第三人称单数
burnishing
-ing
现在分词
burnished
Past
过去式
burnished
Past participle
过去分词
She burnishes the silverware every week.
她每周都擦亮银器。
He burnished his shoes before the interview.
他在面试前擦亮了鞋子。
They are burnishing the floor right now.
他们现在正在打磨地板。
规则动词，加-ed构成过去式和过去分词。
He burnished the old brass doorknob until it shone.
他擦亮了旧铜门把手，直到它闪闪发光。
She burnished the wooden tabletop with a soft cloth.
她用软布擦亮了木桌面。
The craftsman is burnishing the silver ring to a mirror finish.
工匠正在抛光那枚银戒指，使其达到镜面效果。
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。
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。
Not this
The sun burnished my skin.
Use this
The sun burned my skin.
burnish 意为“擦亮、抛光”，不是“燃烧”；表示“晒伤/灼伤”应用 burn，其过去式为 burned 或 burnt。
Not this
Please burnish the room with a sofa.
Use this
Please furnish the room with a sofa.
burnish 和 furnish 拼写相近，但意义不同：furnish 才是“为房间配备家具/布置”，burnish 是“擦亮、磨光”。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
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。
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。
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。
擦亮表面
Use a soft cloth to burnish the wood surface.
用一块软布擦亮木制表面。
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。
提升形象
The company hired a PR firm to burnish its image after the scandal.
丑闻发生后，公司聘请了一家公关公司来提升自身形象。
提升声誉
She volunteered at the charity to burnish her reputation in the community.
她在慈善机构做志愿者，以提升自己在社区中的声誉。
增强资历
He took an advanced course to burnish his credentials for the promotion.
他参加了一门高级课程，以增强自己获得晋升的资历。
Use burnish naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想 burn（燃烧）：摩擦生热如燃烧，把表面磨得发亮→抛光、擦亮。
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。
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）。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.