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varnish

Pronunciation: /ˈvɑːnɪʃ/

Translate varnish | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of varnish

noun

[mass noun]
  • resin dissolved in a liquid for applying on wood, metal, or other materials to form a hard, clear, shiny surface when dry: several coats of varnish [count noun]:the wood was stained with a dark varnish
  • short for nail varnish.her fingernails were painted with pink varnish
  • [in singular] literary an external or superficially attractive appearance of a specific quality:an outward varnish of civilization

verb

[with object]
  • apply varnish to:we stripped the floor and varnished it [with object and complement]:her toenails were varnished red

Derivatives

varnisher

noun

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French vernis, from medieval Latin veronix 'fragrant resin, sandarac' or medieval Greek berenikē, probably from Berenice, a town in Cyrenaica

varnish in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of varnish in the US English dictionary

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