japan
1 of 3adjective
ja·pan jə-ˈpan 
: of, relating to, or originating in Japan : of a kind or style characteristic of Japanese workmanship
japan
2 of 3noun
1
a
: any of several varnishes yielding a hard brilliant finish
b
: a hard dark coating containing asphalt and a drier that is used especially on metal and fixed by heating
called also japan black
2
: work (such as lacquerware) finished and decorated in the Japanese manner
japan
3 of 3verb
japanned; japanning
transitive verb
1
: to cover with or as if with a coat of japan
2
: to give a high gloss to
japanner noun
Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
1673, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1688, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1703, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Geographical Definition
Japan
geographical name
Ja·pan jə-ˈpan
ja-
variants or Japanese Nippon
ni-ˈpän
or Nihon nē-ˈpȯⁿ
nē-ˈhȯn
country in eastern Asia comprising Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and other islands in the western Pacific; a constitutional monarchy; capital Tokyo area 145,914 square miles (377,915 square kilometers), population 126,168,000
see also japanese
japan
verb
as in to lacquer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- lacquer
- varnish
- polish
- coat
- glaze
- buff
- gloss
- furbish
- shine
- slick
- smooth
- rub
- sleek
- dress
- burnish
- finish
- face
- bob
- file
- sand
- veneer
- brighten
- grind
- bone
- scrub
- smoothen
- sandpaper
- scour
- sandblast
- scrape
- lap
- rasp
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rough (up)
- ruffle
- scuff (up)
- roughen