{"word":"burnish","definition":"To cause to shine; to make smooth and bright; to polish; specifically, to polish by rubbing with something hard and smooth; as, to burnish brass or paper. The frame of burnished steel, that east a glare From far, and seemed to thaw the freezing air. Dryden. Now the village windows blaze, Burnished by the setting sun. Cunningham. Burnishing machine, a machine for smoothing and polishing by compression, as in making paper collars.\n\nTo shine forth; to brighten; to become smooth and glossy, as from swelling or filling out; hence, to grow large. A slender poet must have time to grow, And spread and burnish as his brothers do. Dryden. My thoughts began to burnish, sprout, and swell. Herbert.\n\nThe effect of burnishing; gloss; brightness; luster. Crashaw."}