Word of the Day: varnish

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Word of the Day: varnish

The word varnish has appeared in 20 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 14 in “‘The Notebook’ Review: A Musical Tear-Jerker or Just All Wet?” by Jesse Green:

The musical, unwilling except at the margins to alter a plot so beloved — or at least so familiar — tries to distinguish itself in other ways. It aims for a rougher, hand-hewn texture, befitting Noah’s career as a carpenter and the indie-folk sound of its songwriter, Ingrid Michaelson. The directors, Michael Greif and Schele Williams, have cast the couples regardless of race: a nice, universalizing touch.

… In any case, the de-slicking was a mistake; it turns out that the Hollywood varnish was the only thing holding the picture together. In its place, the musical makes few convincing arguments for a separate existence.

Can you correctly use the word varnish in a sentence?

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If you want a better idea of how varnish can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.

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The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.