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Glite Dictionary
to burnish public image

to burnish public image

7.0
To make the public think better of a person or company
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : mejorar la imagen pública
  • The politician hired a media consultant to burnish public image before the election.

Examples

  • The corporation launched a charity initiative to burnish public image after recent scandals.

  • The company aims to burnish public image through community service.

  • Regular community outreach helped the firm burnish public image and attract new customers.

  • He has successfully burnished public image after the scandal.

  • The politician hired a media consultant to burnish public image before the election.

  • The corporation launched a charity initiative to burnish public image after recent scandals.

  • Regular community outreach helped the firm burnish public image and attract new customers.

Synonyms

to bolster someone's reputation
vsto burnish public image
1 4.2

Make people think better of someone

applies to people and organizations in public contexts, not only individuals
to burnish reputation
vsto burnish public image
7.7

To improve how people think about someone after a mistake

is used to improve public standing generally, not only after damage
to reimage
vsto burnish public image
  • Jargon
6.8

To change how people see a person, company, or product

focuses on improving existing public standing instead of creating a new persona
to revarnish
vsto burnish public image
7.4

To make a reputation or image look better by hiding problems

seeks genuine improvement in public standing rather than superficial fixes

Antonyms

to tarnish reputation
3 6.0

Damage the respect and good opinion people have of someone or something

How Positive

to redeem
57 6.1
to burnish public image
7.0
to polish
22 4.1

Surface Forms

burnish public image infinitive
burnished public image past
burnished public image past participle
burnishing public image present participle
burnishes public image third person singular

Morphology

burnish + public + image

The verb 'burnish' literally means 'rub to make shiny' and 'public image' denotes the reputation presented to the public, so the phrase maps onto a clear metaphor of 'polishing' one's reputation. Because this requires a metaphorical extension of the literal verb rather than straightforward compositional meaning, a B1 learner who knows the constituents might infer the sense but would not reliably predict it without exposure.

Etymology

The phrase burnish public image comes from a simple picture: to burnish is to rub metal until it shines, so to burnish a public image is to polish how people see you. That's why it means 'to improve reputation'.