Library / English Dictionary

POLISH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The property of being smooth and shiny

Synonyms:

burnish; gloss; glossiness; polish

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("polish" is a kind of...):

smoothness (a texture without roughness; smooth to the touch)

effulgence; radiance; radiancy; refulgence; refulgency; shine (the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "polish"):

French polish (the glaze produced by repeated applications of French polish shellac)

glaze (a glossy finish on a fabric)

Derivation:

polish (make (a surface) shine)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The Slavic language of Poland

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("Polish" is a kind of...):

Slavic; Slavic language; Slavonic; Slavonic language (a branch of the Indo-European family of languages)

Derivation:

Polish (of or relating to Poland or its people or culture)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality

Example:

almost an inspiration which gives to all work that finish which is almost art

Synonyms:

cultivation; culture; finish; polish; refinement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("polish" is a kind of...):

flawlessness; ne plus ultra; perfection (the state of being without a flaw or defect)

Derivation:

polish (bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state)

polish (improve or perfect by pruning or polishing)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A preparation used in polishing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("polish" is a kind of...):

formulation; preparation (a substance prepared according to a formula)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "polish"):

blacking; shoe polish (a substance used to produce a shiny protective surface on footwear)

Simoniz (a brand of car polish)

Derivation:

polish (make (a surface) shine)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to Poland or its people or culture

Example:

Polish sausage

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

Poland (a republic in central Europe; the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939 started World War II)

Derivation:

Polish (the Slavic language of Poland)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state

Example:

polish your social manners

Synonyms:

brush up; polish; polish up; round; round off

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "polish" is one way to...):

hone; perfect (make perfect or complete)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

polish (a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Improve or perfect by pruning or polishing

Example:

refine one's style of writing

Synonyms:

down; fine-tune; polish; refine

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "polish" is one way to...):

ameliorate; amend; better; improve; meliorate (to make better)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "polish"):

over-refine; overrefine (refine too much or with excess of subtlety)

civilise; civilize; cultivate; educate; school; train (teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

polish (a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make (a surface) shine

Example:

polish my shoes

Synonyms:

polish; shine; smooth; smoothen

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "polish" is one way to...):

beautify; embellish; fancify; prettify (make more beautiful)

"Polish" entails doing...:

rub (move over something with pressure)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "polish"):

Simonise; Simonize (polish with wax)

sleek; slick (make slick or smooth)

buff; burnish; furbish (polish and make shiny)

gloss (give a shine or gloss to, usually by rubbing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They polish the glass tubes

Derivation:

polish (the property of being smooth and shiny)

polish (a preparation used in polishing)

polisher (a power tool used to buff surfaces)

polishing (the work of making something smooth and shiny by rubbing or waxing it)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Here was my own pet lunatic—the most pronounced of his type that I had ever met with—talking elemental philosophy, and with the manner of a polished gentleman.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Just half a minute, my young friend, and we'll give you a polishing that shall keep your curls on for the next ten years!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Several characteristics of each tombstone were recorded, including rock type, length of tombstone exposure (based on date of death), direction of the sampled face (cardinal direction) and surface texture (polished or unpolished).

(Tales from the crypt: Life after death in a graveyard, National Science Foundation)

The men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots with a deep roll of blue at the tops.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Details will count, so aim to put in the most polished performance you can muster.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Polish up my other talents, and be an ornament to society, if I get the chance.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

A paste formulation intended to clean and/or polish the teeth, and which may contain certain additional agents.

(Dentifrice Paste Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A device consisting of a polished surface designed to reflect light.

(Mirror Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

A combination of a dentifrice (formulation intended to clean and/or polish the teeth, and which may contain certain additional agents), and a gel.

(Dentifrice Gel Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Summarizes probe sets using Tukey's median polish procedure.

(Bioconductor caAffy Median Polish Probe Summary Method, NCI Thesaurus)