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Glite Dictionary
to burnish reputation

to burnish reputation

7.7
To improve how people think about someone after a mistake
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈbɜrnɪʃ rɪˈpjuːteɪʃən/
translation icon : mejorar la reputación
  • She wrote an article to burnish her reputation in the industry as a leading expert.

You know, like, I think it's just part of a gang trying to burnish its reputation as being extremely strong and vicious and ruthless.

Examples

  • Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. sought sports teams to validate the growing success of the city, burnishing Atlanta's reputation as a "major league" place.

    Academic text (2014)

  • We both know this will do nothing but burnish your reputation.

    The Post (2017)

  • You know, like, I think it's just part of a gang trying to burnish its reputation as being extremely strong and vicious and ruthless.

    Chris Williamson

  • That check coincided with a rise of sports in the Sunbelt, as new cities in the expanding South and West sought to burnish their reputations with professional teams.

    Academic text (2014)

  • The company launched a new marketing campaign to burnish its reputation after the scandal.

  • The charity event was designed to burnish the organization's reputation and attract more donations.

Synonyms

to redeem
vsto burnish reputation
57 6.1

Make someone or something respected again after a mistake

aims to improve public standing rather than fully restore honor
to bolster someone's reputation
vsto burnish reputation
1 4.2

Make people think better of someone

targets improving damaged public standing rather than general support
to burnish public image
vsto burnish reputation
7.0

To make the public think better of a person or company

focuses on restoring image especially after it has been damaged
to reimage
vsto burnish reputation
  • Jargon
6.8

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

focuses on improving existing standing especially after it has been harmed
to revarnish
vsto burnish reputation
7.4

To make a reputation or image look better by hiding problems

seeks genuine improvement and restoration rather than superficial cosmetic fixes

Antonyms

to discredit
66 6.3

To harm someone's reputation so others stop trusting them

to tarnish reputation
3 6.0

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

How Positive

rehabilitation
  • Formal
8 5.2
to burnish reputation
7.7

Surface Forms

burnish reputation infinitive
burnished reputation past
burnished reputation past participle
burnishing reputation present participle
burnishes reputation third person singular

Morphology

burnish + reputation

The verb 'burnish' literally means 'rub to make shiny', so combined with 'reputation' the phrase evokes the metaphor 'make one's reputation shine', which a learner who knows both words can often infer. Because the sense is a motivated, figurative extension (and somewhat formal) rather than a strictly compositional literal meaning, it is not fully predictable without making a metaphorical leap.

Etymology

Burnish reputation comes from the old job of polishing metal. To burnish means to rub metal until it shines, so the image is of making something dull bright again, and that's why 'burnish reputation' means to make someone's public image better.