varnish
/ˈvɑː(ɹ)nɪʃ/
varnish noun: a clear or translucent liquid coating composed of resin dissolved in a solvent, which dries by evaporation to form a hard, protective, and typically glossy finish.
Noun
varnish (countable and uncountable, plural varnishes)
- A clear or translucent liquid coating composed of resin dissolved in a solvent, which dries by evaporation to form a hard, protective, and typically glossy finish.
- ..; and this process should be continued until all the gum is properly dissolved, which is easily known by having an empty tin can to pour the varnish into, until near the last, which is to be poured into a gallon measure;...1847, editorial staff, “White Hard Spirit of Wine Varnish”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 72
- Anything resembling such a coating; a glossy appearance.
- the varnish of the holly and ivy1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and...
- A deceptively showy appearance.
- And set a double varnish on the fame / The Frenchman gave you.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- A passenger train, probably derived from the varnished passenger cars used at one time.
- Every transcontinental but two settled on the simple articulated for freight service, and all of them coupled their varnish to the 4-8-4.1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co.
Verb
varnish (third-person singular simple present varnishes, present participle varnishing, simple past and past participle varnished)
- To apply varnish.
- To cover up with varnish.
- To make something superficially or deceptively attractive
- varnish the report
- To gloss over a defect.
- [...] Go love thy infant; love thy wood-chopper: be good-natured and modest: have that grace; and never varnish your hard, uncharitable ambition with this incredible tenderness for black folk a thousand miles off. Thy love afar is spite at home.1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”, in Essays: First Series
varnish meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
varnish in Hindi
- transparent paint
- वार्निश vārniś
varnish in Tamil
- நெய் வண்ணம், மெருகு எண்ணெய், மெருகுநெய், வார்னிஷ், வாணிசு, மெருகெண்ணெய்
varnish in Marathi
- वार्निश, वार्निश करा, वार्निश करणे
varnish in Urdu
- varnish, polish; sleekness, glossiness
- روغن rauġan
More languagesFewer languages
- varnish in Bengali
- বার্নিশ barniś
- varnish in Telugu
- వార్నిష్, వార్నీష్, వార్నిష్ చెయ్యడానికి
- varnish in Malayalam
- മരക്കറ, മിനുക്കുലേപനം, പുറംപകിട്ട്, ബാഹ്യശോഭ
- varnish in Kannada
- ಮೆರುಗೆಣ್ಣೆ
- varnish in Punjabi
- ਵਾਰਨੀਸ਼, ਵਾਰਨਿਸ਼, ਵਰਨੀਸ਼
- varnish in Gujarati
- વાર્નિશ, વાર્નિશ કરવા, વાર્નિશ કરો
- varnish in Odia
- ବାର୍ନିଶ୍, ବାର୍ନିଶ, ବାର୍ନିଶ୍ କରିବା
- varnish in Nepali
- वार्निस, वार्निश, वार्निश गर्न
- varnish in Tagalog
- barnis, alyamas
- varnish in Arabic
- وَرْنِيش warnīš
- varnish in Malay
- varnis
- varnish in Indonesian
- pernis
- varnish in Persian
- ورنی verni
- varnish in Thai
- น้ำมันชักเงา
- varnish in Vietnamese
- sơn, véc ni
- varnish in Myanmar
- ဗားနစ် ba:nac
Examples of varnish in a sentence
- The collodion on a negative, or a coat of varnish, may creep in drying.
- This clear varnish is available in gloss, matt and eggshell finishes.
- Drying oils are used as the bases of many paints and varnishes.
Forms of varnish
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | varnishes |
| alternative form (obsolete) | vernish |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | varnishes |
| present participle | varnishing |
| past participle | varnished |
| past | varnished |
Origin of varnish
From Middle English vernisch, vernish, from Old French vernis, from Medieval Latin vernix, veronix, from Byzantine Greek Βερενίκη (Bereníkē, “Berenice”), a town in Cyrenaica, now called Benghazi.
Words formed from varnish
Phrases with varnish
Words that rhyme with varnish
Questions about varnish
- What does varnish mean?
- Varnish means a clear or translucent liquid coating composed of resin dissolved in a solvent, which dries by evaporation to form a hard, protective, and typically glossy finish.
- What is varnish in Hindi?
- Varnish in Hindi is वार्निश (vārniś). See Varnish meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is varnish?
- Varnish can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce varnish?
- Varnish is pronounced /ˈvɑː(ɹ)nɪʃ/.
- What is the plural of varnish?
- The plural of varnish is varnishes.
Words near varnish in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: varnish (page history and authors); varnish (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); varnish (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); روغن (Urdu) (page history and authors); varnish (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); varnish (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); varnish (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); varnish (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); varnish (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); varnish (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); varnish (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-varnish.ogg.
Cite this entry: “varnish.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/varnish. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.