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
If your team isn’t doing well on the field, sweeten the mood with rich, chocolatey cake.
—
Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 4 Feb. 2026
Indiana lawmakers advanced a measure to require data center companies to fork over 1% of their sales tax exemption savings to local governments, sweetening the deal for local officials embroiled in the data center fights sweeping the state.
—Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 3 Feb. 2026
While the Heat wouldn’t benefit as much as the Wolves and Knicks by the Bucks waiting until the summer, Miami would benefit more than Golden State, which can offer four unprotected first-round picks now and cannot sweeten its offer this summer.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
The vinyl material is sturdy enough to play with—and, to sweeten the deal, the special edition package even comes with a collectible pin.
—Jacquelyn Smith, Parents, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sweeten
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Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 4 Feb. 2026
Indiana lawmakers advanced a measure to require data center companies to fork over 1% of their sales tax exemption savings to local governments, sweetening the deal for local officials embroiled in the data center fights sweeping the state.
—Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 3 Feb. 2026
While the Heat wouldn’t benefit as much as the Wolves and Knicks by the Bucks waiting until the summer, Miami would benefit more than Golden State, which can offer four unprotected first-round picks now and cannot sweeten its offer this summer.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2026
The vinyl material is sturdy enough to play with—and, to sweeten the deal, the special edition package even comes with a collectible pin.
—Jacquelyn Smith, Parents, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sweeten
Cite this Entry
“Sweeten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweeten. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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