Brewster-walker guides me up a back road to a grassy knoll dotted with gravestones polished smooth by the salt breeze.
—
Jason Motlagh,
Rolling Stone,
22 Oct. 2026
As part of the extensive refurbishment, the vehicle was rid of some aftermarket add-ons and had its exterior smoothed out and polished to a brilliant, like-new shine.
Yakuza gangs also burnished their reputation by helping ordinary citizens with problems that the authorities couldn’t or didn’t wish to handle.
—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
12 Oct. 2026
Since opening its doors in 1876, literary lions including Somerset Maugham, Noël Coward, and Graham Greene have helped create the hotel's seductive reputation, which was recently burnished by cameos in the third season of The White Lotus.
—
Tony Perrottet,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Oct. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.