Definition of sweeten
sweetened
;sweetening
play \ˈswēt-niŋ, ˈswē-tən-iŋ\transitive verb
1 : to make sweet
2 : to soften the mood or attitude of
3 : to make less painful or trying
4 : to free from a harmful or undesirable quality or substance; especially : to remove sulfur compounds from sweeten natural gas
5 : to make more valuable or attractive sweeten the deal: such asa : to increase (a pot not won on the previous deal) by anteing prior to another dealb : to place additional securities as collateral for (a loan)
intransitive verb
: to become sweet
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Examples of sweeten in a Sentence
He sweetened his cereal a little.
He sweetened the deal with a large signing bonus.
Recent Examples of sweeten from the Web
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That mixture is sweetened with pure cane sugar and carbonated.
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Everything is sweetened by the fact that Venus, the planet of love and beauty, slides into your zone of fame and success Tuesday, making this month one of the absolute best of the year for you at work.
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Depending upon the region, the beverage was sweetened with molasses or maple syrup.
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Her red raspberry cheesecake was always my go-to, with fresh and barely sweetened whipped cream surrounding each tart and rich morsel of the cake itself.
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But on-demand, custom-sweetened beverages, such as those mixed by a server or barista, aren't subject to the tax.
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When Cook County announced a new beverage tax on sweetened drinks, syrups and powders, which goes into effect Saturday and that oddly enough includes artificially sweetened beverages, such as Diet Pepsi, the tax battle became personal.
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A tax on sweetened beverages suddenly puts soda in the same category as cigarettes and liquor, making it a shameful indulgence.
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In Belgium, though coffee is usually drunk without sweetening, 21 pounds of that sugar is disposed of yearly for each inhabitant.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sweeten.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of sweeten
circa 1552
SWEETEN Defined for English Language Learners
sweeten
playDefinition of sweeten for English Language Learners
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: to make (something) sweet or sweeter in taste
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: to make (something) more valuable or attractive
SWEETEN Defined for Kids
sweeten
playDefinition of sweeten for Students
sweetened
;sweetening
: to make or become sweet or sweeter
Learn More about sweeten
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See words that rhyme with sweeten Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sweeten Spanish Central: Translation of sweeten Nglish: Translation of sweeten for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sweeten for Arabic speakers
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