sweeten

verb

sweet·​en ˈswē-tᵊn 

sweetened; sweetening ˈswē-tᵊn-iŋ 

ˈswēt-niŋ

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 as

a

: to increase (a pot not won on the previous deal) by anteing prior to another deal

b

: to place additional securities as collateral for (a loan)

intransitive verb

: to become sweet

sweetener

ˈswēt-nər

ˈswē-tᵊn-ər 

noun

Synonyms

• candy
• dress up
• enhance

Examples of sweeten in a Sentence

He sweetened his cereal a little.

He sweetened the deal with a large signing bonus.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rather than relying on heavy sweetness, Persian desserts are lightly sweetened and perfumed with aromatics like rosewater, cardamom, and saffron. —Shivani Vora, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

Friends become family when Venus sweetens things up in Taurus, and your 11th house of associations, community and social networks. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 5 June 2025

Just make sure to use a plain granola, ideally lightly sweetened, without any chocolate or super sweet add-ins. —Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 27 May 2025

Decades of smashing overheads in tennis would sweeten me to Noah like no candy apple could. —Kelly Schwartz, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing sweeten

• pre-sweeten
• sugar/sweeten the pill
• sweeten up

Rhymes for sweeten

• beaten
• cretin
• eaten
• teton
• wheaten
• phenacetin
• sisseton
• unbeaten
• uneaten
• wahpeton

Kids Definition

sweeten

verb

sweet·​en ˈswēt-ᵊn 

sweetened; sweetening ˈswēt-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to make or become sweet

sweetener

ˈswēt-nər 

-ᵊn-ər

noun