Synonyms of dress up

dress up

verb

1

as in to dress

to put on one's best or formal clothes

we always like to dress up when going to parties

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dress
• doll up
• costume
• clothe
• smarten (up)
• suit
• garment
• tog (out or up)
• deck
• rig (out)
• apparel
• primp
• attire
• prink
• accessorize
• preen
• array
• robe
• garb
• dude (up)
• bedeck
• bedizen
• invest
• caparison

2

as in to disguise

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 & Similar Words

• disguise
• mask
• camouflage
• conceal
• hide
• simulate
• cloak
• cover
• obscure
• blot out
• pose
• assume
• affect
• screen
• curtain
• veil
• play
• masquerade
• pretend
• blanket
• gloss (over)
• occult
• enshroud
• shroud
• feign
• sham
• dissimulate
• counterfeit
• act
• dissemble
• cosmeticize
• varnish
• fake
• impersonate
• whitewash
• gild

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unmask
• display
• show
• exhibit
• expose
• parade
• uncover
• flaunt
• disclose
• unveil
• reveal
• undrape
• discover
• divulge
• betray
• bare
• uncloak
• unclothe

3

as in to candy

to make more desirable

dressed up the house with new windows and a paint job before putting it on the market

Synonyms & Similar Words

• candy
• spruce
• sweeten
• improve
• enhance
• ameliorate
• soup up
• enrich
• trick
• embellish
• cosmeticize
• meliorate
• doll up

4

as in to clothe

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 & Similar Words

• clothe
• dress
• deck (out)
• costume
• gown
• garment
• rig (out)
• attire
• toilet
• habit
• get up
• apparel
• array
• wrap
• suit
• drape
• tog (up or out)
• garb
• bedeck
• jacket
• do up
• enrobe
• robe
• vesture
• invest
• furnish
• uniform
• caparison
• cloak
• vest
• outfit
• dress down
• mantle
• frock
• swaddle
• equip
• tailor
• huddle
• enswathe
• swathe
• hap
• bedight
• habilitate
• accoutre
• underdress

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strip
• disarray
• undress
• disrobe
• untruss
• uncover
• divest
• unclothe
• unveil
• denude
• undrape

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dress up

This elegant striped style can be dressed up with strappy heels and jewelry or dressed down with raffia ballet flats to work for a variety of occasions. — Jordan Julian, InStyle, 17 July 2026

The floral print, which comes in several different colors that are also on sale, is easy to dress up or down for any event. — Paige Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 July 2026

Today, dressing up as an athlete, the same as in any public-facing career, is an unavoidable profile-raising effort. — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 15 July 2026

On July 4, Stonestreet shared an Instagram video of him and his wife dressed up for Swift and Kelce’s wedding. — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026