Polish
['pɒlɪʃ] or ['pɑlɪʃ]
Definition
(noun.) the property of being smooth and shiny.
(noun.) the Slavic language of Poland.
(noun.) a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality; 'they performed with great polish'; 'I admired the exquisite refinement of his prose'; 'almost an inspiration which gives to all work that finish which is almost art'--Joseph Conrad.
(noun.) a preparation used in polishing.
(verb.) bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state; 'polish your social manners'.
(verb.) improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; 'refine one's style of writing'.
(verb.) make (a surface) shine; 'shine the silver, please'; 'polish my shoes'.
(adj.) of or relating to Poland or its people or culture; 'Polish sausage' .
Typist: Natalie--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Of or pertaining to Poland or its inhabitants.
(n.) The language of the Poles.
(v. t.) To make smooth and glossy, usually by friction; to burnish; to overspread with luster; as, to polish glass, marble, metals, etc.
(v. t.) Hence, to refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite; as, to polish life or manners.
(v. i.) To become smooth, as from friction; to receive a gloss; to take a smooth and glossy surface; as, steel polishes well.
(n.) A smooth, glossy surface, usually produced by friction; a gloss or luster.
(n.) Anything used to produce a gloss.
(n.) Fig.: Refinement; elegance of manners.
Typist: Murray
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Burnish, furbish, rub up, brighten, make glossy.[2]. Refine, civilize.
n. [1]. Lustre, brightness, brilliance, brilliancy, splendor.[2]. Grace, refinement, accomplishment, elegance.
Edited by Lilian
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Burnish, furbish, levigate, brighten, refine, make_glossy
ANT:Abrade, scratch
Editor: Luke
Definition
v.t. to make smooth and glossy by rubbing: to refine: to make elegant.—v.i. to become smooth and glossy.—n. a smooth glossy surface: refinement of manners: anything used to produce a polish.—adjs. Pol′ishable; Pol′ished made smooth by rubbing: trained to act with great fineness and exactness: refined: polite.—ns. Pol′isher one who or that which polishes; Pol′ishing-paste polishing material made in the form of paste; Pol′ishing-pow′der polishing material made in the form of powder as whiting diamond-dust &c.; Pol′ishing-slate a mineral used for polishing glass marble and metals composed chiefly of silica with a little alumina lime oxide of iron and water; Pol′ishment.
adj. relating to Poland or to its people.
Editor: Ryan
Examples
- Again you find us, Miss Summerson, said he, using our little arts to polish, polish! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The Polish language was banned, and the Greek Orthodox church was substituted for the Roman Catholic as the State religion. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Thoroughly clean the article from all grease and dirt (see polishing preparations, page 12), and apply with a soft rag or brush and polish with a chamois skin. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- There's polish! Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- I mean to begin from this day to cultivate, to polish, and we shall see. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- They only give a little polish. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Not fit to polish the teeth of her grandmother's cat! Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- The daguerreotype was made on a thin sheet of copper, silver plated on one side, polished to a high degree of brilliancy, and made sensitive by exposing it to the fumes of iodine. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- It consisted of a graduated arc of soli d polished brass five inches broad, two inches thick, and with a radius of about six and three quarters feet. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The lofty gateways are graced with statues, and the broad floors are all laid in polished flags of marble. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Certainly, sir; and it has the advantage also of being in vogue amongst the less polished societies of the world. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- It is rough compared with a polished mirror. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished society. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- I was hoping that if the paper on which he wrote was thin, some trace of it might come through upon this polished surface. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Thoroughly clean the article from all grease and dirt (see polishing preparations, page 12), and apply with a soft rag or brush and polish with a chamois skin. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Before this latter operation, the finished tapering, smoothing, varnishing and polishing is done by hand. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Or the use of the diamond, or its dust, for polishing it when hard? William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The polishing is not necessarily done the same day they are ironed. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Polishing the rough edge of the girdle is rarely done and then usually to conceal a girdle which is too thick or lumpy. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The human body, cloth, leather, metals, wood and grains, everything that needs rubbing, cleaning, painting and polishing, meets the acquaintance of the brush. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The paste does its work faster than the polishing powder, and if the articles are very much corroded it is preferable. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Amy was gratified, but of course didn't show it, and demurely answered, Foreign life polishes one in spite of one's self. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Typist: Wesley