as in elegant
being strikingly neat and trim in style or appearance
a slim, spruce man in a tailor-made business suit
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spruce
Lizzy Briskin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
Consider Juni instead a light sprucing of your mood, with pint-sized pep.
—Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 6 Nov. 2025
The 34-mile road winds through several ecosystems from cove hardwood to northern hardwood to pine oak to spruce fir.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2025
Available in various colors, from black to blush pink patent leather, the closed toe pumps offer an adjustable buckle slingback strap and fun geometric side cut-outs that spruce your outfit up.
—Meaghan Kenny, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spruce
Verb
And there is no better brand for sprucing than Breville.
—Lizzy Briskin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
Consider Juni instead a light sprucing of your mood, with pint-sized pep.
—Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 6 Nov. 2025
The 34-mile road winds through several ecosystems from cove hardwood to northern hardwood to pine oak to spruce fir.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2025
Available in various colors, from black to blush pink patent leather, the closed toe pumps offer an adjustable buckle slingback strap and fun geometric side cut-outs that spruce your outfit up.
—Meaghan Kenny, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spruce
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spruce
Adjective
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Depending on the combination, this creates either a clean, almost futuristic appeal or a soft, elegant look.—
Jana Ackermann,
Glamour,
28 Mar. 2026
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Van Beirendonck gravitates toward loud prints in bright colors and allusions to BDSM, whereas Van Saene makes elegant cocktail dresses for women with bow details and shrunken cardigans.—
Marisa Meltzer,
Vanity Fair,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After being tricked by Scarpia, Cavaradossi is hanged for treason.—
Courtney Lewis,
Florida Times-Union,
28 Mar. 2026
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Ever since the first caveman tricked his neighbor into trading a pile of rocks for some tasty mastodon steaks, con men have been persuading others to act against their own interests.—
Neil J. Rubenking,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The Mets, Phillies and Braves are smart, draft well, develop players and spend big.—
Greg Cote
Updated March 27,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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Despite standing at 6-foot-2 and playing a game more suited for a forward six inches taller, Payton entered Friday night having made 16 consecutive field goals, the vast majority of them being opportunistic dunks and layups off smart cuts and putbacks.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Sacramento improved its position in the lottery standings, gaining ground on the Nets and Indiana Pacers, who beat the Miami Heat 135-118 after losing 18 of their last 19 games.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
30 Mar. 2026
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Albin is confident the offensive line will improve this season, allowing the signal callers to take command of the offense.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Diaper cakes may not sound sophisticated, but there are several stylish options that make great centerpieces.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Faux vintage and synthetic materials are also no longer stylish.—
Cori Sears,
The Spruce,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Today, every inch of the Starquarters has been embellished with La DoubleJ’s maximalist patterns.—
Ingrid Abramovitch,
Architectural Digest,
24 Mar. 2026
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Her trademark mix of stratospheric vocals, whiplash sound design, and electronic beats is in full force, her gigantic productions embellished by co-producers James Ford and Hudson Mohawke, with Jacques Greene among the additional producers.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Like a quality watch, gold necklaces are timeless accessories — living outside of the trend cycle while appearing around the necks of society’s most fashionable year in and year out, no matter the season.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
31 Mar. 2026
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However, this rigorous standard aligns with her upbringing in 1950s Compton, where her parents kept an organic vegetable garden long before the term was fashionable.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Harmon isn’t just hungry to close this out with a natty after the Horns tied for second place in the SEC regular season.—
Cedric Golden,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Mar. 2026
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That is, somehow, not all that unfolds in Season 4’s final four episodes, but the real pleasure of this entry is watching all of this unspool in natty succession.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spruce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spruce. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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