as in to decorate
to make more attractive by adding something that is beautiful or becoming
gone are the days when the high school prom was held in the gym, which had been gussied up for the occasion
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Recent Examples of gussy up
Multiple, vastly different environments offer a choose-your-own adventure of a stay: Stumble out of bed late and hit the pool chairs for some sun and hair of the dog, or gussy up for craft cocktails and haute bites.
—
Nathan Tavares, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Jan. 2026
Alongside letting fans treat Majima like a Ken doll by fashioning his outfits, hairstyles, makeup, and jewelry, the game allows players to customize and gussy up his sea vessel.
—Isaiah Colbert, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2025
This luxe velvet Jennifer Behr Velvet Bow Barrette is classic enough to pair with jeans and a white tee, but can easily gussy up a nap dress with a clip of its barrette (no behind-the-head, blind-tying necessary).
—Angela Trakoshis, Allure, 27 Sep. 2024
Our readers offered their hacks to gussy up a frozen pizza and tips to make it from scratch.
—Tejal Rao, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Took several payments of $350,000—to gussy up China’s image in the West.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 14 July 2023
For a condiment upgrade, gussy up a bottle of ketchup with tahini.
—Joe Sevier, Bon Appétit, 14 June 2023
Chip and Joanna Gaines gussy up a boxed cake mix with yogurt, pudding mix and chocolate chips to make a showstopping sweet topped off with a homemade chocolate glaze.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2023
But the teen-witch narrative that the film adopts is hard to gussy up, especially since after Hocus Pocus there was no shortage of such stories, from Halloweentown to Sabrina (and its reboot).
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Sep. 2022
Nathan Tavares, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Jan. 2026
Alongside letting fans treat Majima like a Ken doll by fashioning his outfits, hairstyles, makeup, and jewelry, the game allows players to customize and gussy up his sea vessel.
—Isaiah Colbert, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2025
This luxe velvet Jennifer Behr Velvet Bow Barrette is classic enough to pair with jeans and a white tee, but can easily gussy up a nap dress with a clip of its barrette (no behind-the-head, blind-tying necessary).
—Angela Trakoshis, Allure, 27 Sep. 2024
Our readers offered their hacks to gussy up a frozen pizza and tips to make it from scratch.
—Tejal Rao, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Took several payments of $350,000—to gussy up China’s image in the West.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 14 July 2023
For a condiment upgrade, gussy up a bottle of ketchup with tahini.
—Joe Sevier, Bon Appétit, 14 June 2023
Chip and Joanna Gaines gussy up a boxed cake mix with yogurt, pudding mix and chocolate chips to make a showstopping sweet topped off with a homemade chocolate glaze.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2023
But the teen-witch narrative that the film adopts is hard to gussy up, especially since after Hocus Pocus there was no shortage of such stories, from Halloweentown to Sabrina (and its reboot).
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Sep. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gussy up
Verb
-
Her days are patterned, quiet, and slow; her toys make no clattering sounds, the nursery is decorated only in soothing, dim colors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The site where Pretti was killed, on Nicollet Avenue near 26th Street, was decorated with hundreds of pillar and votive candles and dozens of flower bouquets and signs left by neighbors and mourners by midday Monday.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Teeny hearts and silver dots adorn this crisp French manicure for a cutsey and romantic finish.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Grab a seat in the room adorned with antique-market finds and low, flickering candles.—
Megan Spurrell,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gussy up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gussy%20up. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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