1
as in to brighten
to become glad or hopeful
we perked up once the sun came out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to lift
to move from a lower to a higher place or position
the dog tilts her head and perks up her ears whenever someone speaks to her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perk (up)
Verb
-
The trees featured here flower at different times throughout the year and tolerate a range of growing conditions, offering beautiful options to brighten any landscape.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025 -
Then give someone a sincere compliment to brighten his or her day.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
Sealing your grout is a great way to prevent further staining and using a steam cleaner can help to lift the stains.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
28 June 2025
-
As much as another clock-gobbling Skinner-Alcaraz title bout or a deep run by Gauff will help lift ESPN’s Wimbledon deliveries, perhaps nothing would get the Nielsen dials spinning like another plunge into the meteorological swamp.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
Weil raised around $15 million, with the majority of it coming from donations that were $200 or less.—
Siena Duncan,
Miami Herald,
22 June 2025
-
That raises real concerns about whether SGA and Co. can make the right plays against Indiana's defensive pressure in Game 7. Ironically, many expected this exact issue -- pressure defense forcing turnovers and leading to easy offense the other way -- to play a huge role in these Finals.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 June 2025
Verb
-
Suede handbags will elevate your outfits, while slim sandals go with everything and do the look just slightly better than everyone else.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 July 2025
-
Studio Azuki plans to fuse this international momentum with Japan’s anime culture to pioneer new production models, elevate storytelling quality, enable fan collaboration and introduce social-first formats.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
1 July 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Perk (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perk%20%28up%29. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share