1
as in brightens
to become glad or hopeful
we perked up once the sun came out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lifts
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 perks (up)
Verb
-
The colorful evergreen foliage provides a warm winter welcome in porch planters and brightens patios all year long.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
22 Feb. 2026 -
Notes like vanilla, coffee, chocolate, and peppermint keep luring me in, veiling me in a cake-like cloud that brightens my mood on even the gloomiest 20-degree days.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
After the fog lifts this morning, skies across the area will stay cloudy to mostly cloudy.—
Steven Sosna,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The House bill, and its Senate counterpart, Senate Bill 594, which passed on Wednesday, lifts that restriction.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As more than 10 nations in Europe are participating in the F-35 program, this raises concerns related to Trump’s tariff-heavy diplomacy.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The increasing integration of blockchain and the finance industry raises uncomfortable questions of whether crypto is betraying its founding ideals, which saw Bitcoin as a rebellion against the big bank and government control of the financial system.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Eileen Gu and Mathilde Gremaud look streets ahead of the rest of the field, but the bronze medal looks up for grabs for whoever holds their nerve.—
Isabel Yip,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Cumberland Gap Where Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia meet, Cumberland Gap sits in a valley that looks up at the famous gap in the Cumberland Mountain range from which the town gets its name.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The magic of this bag is in its subtle details, which transforms and elevates it above the standard tote.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Time elevates those people and their deeds to the heights of deities, and American gods must be faultless.—
Adam Harris,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
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
“Perks (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perks%20%28up%29. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
