sweetened; sweetening
ˈswē-tᵊn-iŋ 
ˈswēt-niŋ
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)
: to become sweet
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
Where some agents propose taking a smaller percentage of prospects’ contracts than other agents would to sweeten their submission.
—
Alec Lewis, New York Times, 17 June 2025
The expansion comes as other states from New York to California to Texas have sweetened or are in the process of expanding their production incentives to keep projects from moving out of state and out of the country.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 13 June 2025
The Knicks also have limited draft capital to sweeten the pot.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 11 June 2025
To sweeten the pot, the movie theater is also offering 2005 prices for tickets ($10.75 for regular admission and $7 for IFC Center members), as well as concessions.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweeten
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show current usage.
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Alec Lewis, New York Times, 17 June 2025
The expansion comes as other states from New York to California to Texas have sweetened or are in the process of expanding their production incentives to keep projects from moving out of state and out of the country.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 13 June 2025
The Knicks also have limited draft capital to sweeten the pot.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 11 June 2025
To sweeten the pot, the movie theater is also offering 2005 prices for tickets ($10.75 for regular admission and $7 for IFC Center members), as well as concessions.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweeten
Cite this Entry
“Sweeten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweeten. Accessed 21 Jun. 2025.
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