1
as in to brighten
to become glad or hopeful
cheer up—things are bound to get better
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to encourage
to fill with courage or strength of purpose
the general's speech cheered up the troops tremendously
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheer (up)
Verb
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Looking for a low-commitment way to brighten up your hair for spring?—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
4 Feb. 2026 -
In the bedroom, rather than doing their best to brighten up the room, which is small and has only one window, Adams and Tolles leaned into the room’s cavernous energy and painted it dark blue.—
Lina Abascal,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The numbers have been slowly ticking up for over a year – a rare bit of good news for a government that has spent billions of dollars for more than a decade encouraging people to do just that.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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Guests are encouraged to bring camp chairs or blankets.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While it was made in the ‘90s, the collection (which showed slip dresses, shirts with undulating ruffles, and jacquard silk jackets constructed to look permanently burst-open) was inspired by the romance between Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife Josephine.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
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The work was inspired by cephalopods such as octopuses, which can rapidly alter their skin’s appearance and texture to blend into their surroundings or communicate.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The driver turned on his mobile hot spot so Piro could look up the hotel’s address.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
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As vehicles pass by, the reader takes a photo of the back of the car, collecting the license plate number that can be used to look up the vehicle registration.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Cheer (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheer%20%28up%29. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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