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illustrious, or more distinguished; to add luster or splendor to. The present queen would brighten her character, if she would exert her authority to instill virtues into her people. Swift.

To shine forth; to brighten; to become smooth and glossy, as from swelling or filling out; hence, to grow large. A slender poet must have time to grow, And spread and burnish as his brothers do. Dryden. My thoughts began to burnish, sprout, and swell. Herbert.

To make clear; to free from obscurities; to brighten or illuminate. To clarify his reason, and to rectify his will. South.

The process of cleaning or brightening sheet metal or metalware, esp. brass, by dipping it in acids, etc.

To brighten. [Obs.]

The sudden brightening of a fused globule of gold or silver, when the last film of the oxide of lead or copper leaves its surface; -- also called blick. A phenomenon called, by the old chemists, fulguration. Ure.

To make attractive; to adorn; to brighten. Let oft good humor, mild and gay, Gild the calm evening of your day. Trumbull.

To make light; to throw light on; to supply with light, literally or figuratively; to brighten.

To throw rays of light upon; to illuminate; to brighten; to adorn with luster. Thy smile irradiates yon blue fields. Sir W. Jones.

To sharpen; to make cold. [R.] Cold winter keens the brightening flood. Thomson.

To be illuminated; to receive light; to brighten; -- with up; as, the room light up very well.

To grow lighter; to become less dark or lowering; to brighten; to clear, as the sky.

The act of making bright, or the state of being made bright; enlightenment; brightening, as of the mental powers. [R.] Ball lightning, a rare form of lightning sometimes seen as a globe of fire moving from the clouds to the earth. -- Chain lightning, lightning in angular, zigzag, or forked flashes. -- Heat lightning,…

The brightening of a metal in the crucible when it becomes pure, as in certain refining processes.

t sand, scale rust, etc., from the surface of castings, or other articles of metal, or to brighten them or improve their color.

ace, and mended his stories. Dryden. But let a lord once own the happy lines, How the wit brightens! How the style refines! Pope.

A rubbing up afresh; a brightening. [Obs.] A continual refrication of the memory. Bp. Hall.

To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; -- often with up or over; as, to rub up silver. The whole business of our redemption is to rub over the defaced copy of the creation. South.

o rub with a wet brush, or with something coarse or rough, for the purpose of cleaning or brightening; as, to scrub a floor, a doorplate.

The act of smiling; a peculiar change or brightening of the face, which expresses pleasure, moderate joy, mirth, approbation, or kindness; -- opposed to frown. Sweet intercourse Of looks and smiles: for smiles from reason flow. Milton.