dress up

1 to put on one's best or formal clothes we always like to dress up when going to parties Synonyms doll up, dress Related Words preen, primp, prink, smarten (up); accessorize; apparel, array, attire, bedeck, bedizen, caparison, clothe, costume, deck, dude (up), garb, garment, invest, rig (out), robe, suit, tog (out or up)

2 to change the dress or looks of so as to conceal true identity the war was a fiasco that the administration tried to dress up as a triumph Synonyms camouflage, cloak, disguise, maskRelated Words blanket, blot out, conceal, cover, curtain, enshroud, hide, obscure, occult, screen, shroud, veil; affect, assume, counterfeit, dissemble, dissimulate, feign, pose, pretend, sham, simulate; act, fake, impersonate, masquerade, play; cosmeticize, gild, gloss (over), varnish, whitewashNear Antonyms display, exhibit, expose, flaunt, parade, show, uncloak, unclothe, uncover, undrape, unveil; bare, betray, disclose, discover, divulge, expose, revealAntonyms unmask

3 to make more desirable dressed up the house with new windows and a paint job before putting it on the market Synonyms candy, sweeten, enhanceRelated Words ameliorate, enrich, improve, meliorate; embellish, soup up, trick; cosmeticize, doll up, spruce

4 to outfit with clothes and especially fine or special clothes the girls were dressed up in skirts or dresses, but the boys were wearing jeans Synonyms apparel, array, attire, bedeck, caparison, costume, deck (out), do up, dress, clothe, enrobe, garb, garment, get up, gown, habit, invest, rig (out), robe, suit, tog (up or out), toilet, vestureRelated Words cloak, frock, jacket, mantle, vest; drape, enswathe, hap [dialect], huddle, swaddle, swathe, wrap; accoutre (or accouter), bedight [archaic], equip, furnish, habilitate, outfit, tailor, uniform; dress down, underdressNear Antonyms denude, divest, uncover, undrape, unveilAntonyms disarray, disrobe, strip, unclothe, undress, untruss [archaic]