VARNISH • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Varnish

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/vˈɑrnɪʃ/ Listen

noun

Varnish n.

A viscid liquid, consisting of a solution of resinous matter in an oil or a volatile liquid, laid on work with a brush, or otherwise. When applied the varnish soon dries, either by evaporation or chemical action, and the resinous part forms thus a smooth, hard surface, with a beautiful gloss, capable of resisting, to a greater or less degree, the influences of air and moisture. Note: According to the sorts of solvents employed, the ordinary kinds of varnish are divided into three classes: spirit, turpentine, and oil varnishes.

That which resembles varnish, either naturally or artificially; a glossy appearance. "The varnish of the holly and ivy."

An artificial covering to give a fair appearance to any act or conduct; outside show; gloss. "And set a double varnish on the fame The Frenchman gave you."

Varnish tree (Bot.), a tree or shrub from the juice or resin of which varnish is made, as some species of the genus Rhus, especially Rhus vernicifera of Japan. The black varnish of Burmah is obtained from the Melanorrhoea usitatissima, a tall East Indian tree of the Cashew family. See Copal, and Mastic.

verb

Varnish v. t. (past & past part. varnished; pres. part. varnishing)

To lay varnish on; to cover with a liquid which produces, when dry, a hard, glossy surface; as, to varnish a table; to varnish a painting.

To cover or conceal with something that gives a fair appearance; to give a fair coloring to by words; to gloss over; to palliate; as, to varnish guilt. "Beauty doth varnish age." "Close ambition, varnished o'er with zeal." "Cato's voice was ne'er employed To clear the guilty and to varnish crimes."

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Etymology of 'Varnish'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Varnish" Quotes from Famous Books

... to climb a steep hill, thickly covered with a very pricklesome heather, and black slimy bogs, wherein the varnish of my patent-leather shoes did soon become totally dimmed. So, being gravely incommoded by the shortness of my wind, I entrusted my musket to an under-keeper, begging him to inform me of the early approach ...

— Baboo Jabberjee, B.A. • F. Anstey

... sometimes required to give to ground glass surfaces a temporary transparency. This is to be done by using a film of oil of the same refractive index as the glass. Cornu has employed a varnish consisting of a mixture of turpentine and oil of cloves, but the yellow-brown colour of the latter is often a disadvantage. It will be found that a mixture of nut oil and oil of bitter almonds, or of bromo-napthalene and acetone, can be made of only ...

— On Laboratory Arts • Richard Threlfall

... unpleasant. They would be horrid to meet and horrid to think of. We fear it must be owned that Enoch Arden is this kind of person. A dirty sailor who did not go home to his wife is not an agreeable being: a varnish must be put on him to make him shine. It is true that he acts rightly; that he is very good. But such is human nature that it finds a little tameness in mere morality. Mere virtue belongs to a charity school-girl, and has ...

— English Critical Essays - Nineteenth Century • Various

... For Sikhs to attempt what they carried through, even under such splendid leadership as Ranjoor Singh's, was to defy the very nth degree of odds. To have tried to tell the tale otherwise than in Hira Singh's own words would have been to varnish gold. Amid the echoes of the roar of the guns in Flanders, the world is inclined to overlook India's share in it all and the stout proud loyalty of Indian hearts. May this tribute to the gallant Indian gentlemen who came to fight our battles serve to remind its readers that they who give ...

— Hira Singh - When India came to fight in Flanders • Talbot Mundy

... the white paint, the crimson plush, the brown varnish of mahogany tops. The white wood packing-case under the bed-place had remained unopened for three years now, as though Captain Whalley had felt that, after the Fair Maid was gone, there could be no abiding-place on earth for his affections. His hands rested ...

— End of the Tether • Joseph Conrad

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