1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

smartening (up)

verb

present participle of smarten (up)
as in prinking

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smartening (up)
  1. primping
  2. dressing up
Verb
  • Plus, check out the rest of her hair primping routine, below.
    — Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 5 July 2026
  • The small reception desk seems tight on space, but most employees are out in the lobby welcoming guests, straightening pillows in the waterfront lounge, and primping the magnificent flower arrangements anyway.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Definition of primping
Verb
  • Pinkchyu got a full shopping spree, which included Drizzy dressing up as a goth to match her energy.
    — Armon Sadler, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
  • And then there’s Michael Kors, bringing all the drama with animal prints, fringe, and elevated fabrics that encourage dressing up, even when the calendar says Tuesday.
    — Camila Quimper, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of dressing up
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.

Browse Nearby Words

smartening
smartening (up)
smartens
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Smartening (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smartening%20%28up%29. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All