How to Use varnish in a Sentence

varnish

1 of 2 noun
  • She accidentally scratched the varnish.
  • Her nails are very long and covered in very red varnish.
    — Literary Hub, 24 Nov. 2025
  • The process involves spraying on a durable varnish, rather than paint.
    — Marissa Hermanson, Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2022
  • These scented candles have notes of wood and varnish to evoke their book-laden dream home.
    — Carina Finn, Bon Appétit, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Hailey Bieber is the latest celeb to make a case for red nail varnish.
    — Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Hidden beneath the varnish was an adult rattlesnake, stretched out full length.
    — Barbara Henry, sandiegouniontribune.com, 7 June 2018
  • The sentences are laid on like varnish, coat after coat, until the text gleams with a high shine.
    — Ryu Spaeth, The New Republic, 4 May 2018
  • Apply stain if needed and then laquer, varnish, or polyurethane to match the rest of the floor.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2025
  • After the stain dries, wax or paint over it with a polyurethane or varnish that matches the finish on your floor.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2025
  • But the formaldehyde-free conversion varnish isn’t so durable.
    — Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022
  • The Wachters spoke of the many that have caught fire, sometimes due to the varnish used on the wooden ships.
    — Linda Gandee/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, 10 July 2017
  • What’s more, a layer of varnish had settled over the painting’s surface.
    — Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023
  • In time, there’s oxidized nutty notes, then leather oils which stray towards varnish.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 14 July 2023
  • Refinish the door with stain or varnish that matches the rest of the kitchen cabinet doors.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 11 Jan. 2026
  • The second step is to apply several coats of a matte varnish.
    — Michelle Higgins, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2018
  • Step aboard, inhale new-boat varnish and debate stateroom layouts.
    — Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
  • First, the researchers needed to remove the varnish to avoid mixed ages from two different sources.
    — The Economist, 8 June 2019
  • But Iowa stripped Penn State’s high-flying offense of its varnish.
    — Scott Dochterman, ajc, 24 Sep. 2017
  • Coat wood with clear varnish to protect the handwriting from the elements.
    — Jill Gleeson, Country Living, 23 Mar. 2023
  • Methanol is a clear, odorless, highly flammable liquid found in antifreeze, varnish and fuel.
    — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The varnish strengthens it against the weather and prevent cracks, splinters, and warping.
    — Emma Bazilian, House Beautiful, 15 June 2023
  • Keep in mind that any existing stain, paint, or varnish will take some extra elbow grease to fully remove.
    — House Beautiful, 14 Nov. 2017
  • On the dressing table were bottles of nail varnish, face lotion, pots of cream, and boxes of powder.
    — Michael Hofmann, Harper's Magazine, 27 Oct. 2020
  • Finally, the skeletons were coated with a clear gloss varnish spray to prepare them for display.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 1 July 2026
  • Lacquer is a particular type of varnish that is usually made from lac.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Add varnish or nail polish to provide insulation and to stop the knots from coming undone.
    — Andy Clark, Popular Science, 9 Jan. 2020
  • Polymers found in varnish, which can be used on the exteriors of ships, were also notable in those samples.
    — Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2019
  • Perhaps a dozen small shopkeepers sell paint, varnish and hardware to the artisans, as well as to passing trade.
    — The Economist, 24 Feb. 2018
  • Above the cluttered workbench hang three perfect mandolins glowing in the morning light, waiting for their varnish to cure.
    — Maria L. La Ganga, idahostatesman, 21 Dec. 2017
  • The recent share-price performance for some of the world’s largest cosmetics and skin-care product makers needs no varnish.
    — Jacky Wong, WSJ, 21 June 2018

varnish

2 of 2 verb
  • As such, people could use it as a paint or varnish to protect things.
    — Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 9 Feb. 2022
  • They were stripped of paint, polished and varnished for their second life.
    — John Leicester, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Granted, the time spent in sorrow over his bad fate is varnished over with tons of humor.
    — Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2023
  • These weren’t for the database, but would make pretty bits to varnish and display.
    — Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 1 July 2022
  • The backs of the boxes are varnished, but covered with grease, sauce and cheese underneath.
    — Taylor Hartz, chicagotribune.com, 6 Nov. 2019
  • Made from solid wood with a top surface that’s partially varnished, these boards up your game with just the right amount of slide.
    — Sharon Brandwein, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Smith says his father would spend hours cutting out, sanding and varnishing wooden shields to mount his antlers.
    — Allen G. Breed, chicagotribune.com, 23 May 2018
  • There’s no time required for sanding, staining or varnishing.
    — Joesph Truini, Popular Mechanics, 8 Dec. 2019
  • The floor is put into the frame after the flooring panels have been varnished to stop water damage to the wood.
    — Cmg Containers, Sun Sentinel, 1 May 2024
  • Adding this same paint varnish on the retail version ensures every detail is the same as Swiatek's.
    — Tim Newcomb, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2022
  • Like the timber caprail, the wood is treated with oil rather than varnish to reduce maintenance and steer away from a high-gloss finish.
    — Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 18 Nov. 2022
  • Using medium-grade sandpaper, sand down the front and edges of wooden, painted or varnished doors or drawer fronts with power sander or sanding block.
    — House Beautiful, 11 May 2017
  • Using medium-grade sandpaper, sand down the front and edges of wooden, painted or varnished doors or drawer fronts with power sander or sanding block.
    — House Beautiful, 14 Nov. 2017
  • Horse manure removal was another task, as well as varnishing and inspecting the heavy ladders used to save people trapped on upper floors.
    — Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 24 June 2023
  • Artists are also always being willing to touch-up and varnish their creations, as needed, which is also a huge help to the organization.
    — Melanie Savage, Hartford Courant, 9 Nov. 2022
  • Reaching the island is all part of the fun too, requiring you to hop aboard a vintage, slickly varnished wooden boat at Balmaha and schedule a pick-up time for the way back.
    — Rosie Conroy, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Before environmental laws curtailed its application, lead was widely added to paint used in homes and schools, to varnish used on toys, to plumbing pipes and to fuel for cars.
    — Emily Langer, Washington Post, 20 July 2017
  • However, when lacquered or varnished, the material is just fine for general purposes.
    — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, 15 Jan. 2019
  • Football is an intoxicatingly popular product, with a lot of parties benefitting from the largesse, and more than happy to varnish the sport’s reputation.
    — Jason Gay, WSJ, 14 Oct. 2021
  • Popular Mechanics purists from the ‘30s would probably roll over in their graves upon hearing that, but acrylic urethane is harder and superior to varnish.
    — Jim Eicher, Popular Mechanics, 2 June 2020
  • Rather, the dark appearance is the result of the accumulation of dirt and varnish over four centuries, as the painting was subject to various kinds of chemical and mechanical alterations.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Although pest control companies offer lethal solutions such as carpenter bee traps or chemical treatments, the best way to keep carpenter bees from bugging you is using stained, sealed, varnished or treated wood in building projects.
    — Sarah Linn april 24, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026
  • The company achieved a lighter weight vessel by hand-painting it with an epoxy composite that looks like Hinckley's signature varnished teak look without the weight or maintenance costs associated with real teak wood.
    — Kirsten Korosec, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2017
  • In addition to the original paint and varnish in the drawing rooms, the Shrewsbury-Windle house also features some of the Shrewsbury family’s original furnishings and portraits.
    — Lennie Omalza, The Courier-Journal, 4 Apr. 2024
  • 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

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'varnish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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