smartens

verb

present tense third-person singular of smarten
as in brightens

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smartens
  1. brightens
  2. freshens
  3. enriches
Verb
  • Today’s recipe Creamy, sweet dates soothe out the lemon in these bars, while the tart lemon brightens up the dates.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The colorful evergreen foliage provides a warm winter welcome on porches and brightens containers throughout the landscape all year long.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of brightens
Verb
  • This light color freshens a space with an easy-going breezy quality.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 26 May 2026
  • Grinding ice cubes with coarse salt helps break up buildup, while a handful of citrus peels freshens the scent.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026
Definition of freshens
Verb
  • The acquisition enriches Rule42’s portfolio for athlete discovery by combining 64 Analytics’ transfer portal data and real-time NCAA player rankings into an integrated Rule42 coach’s tool for overall player talent management.
    — Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Spending has been helped by a strong stock market, which reflects enthusiasm over the prospects for artificial intelligence and which enriches wealthy investors and gives them more money to buy things with.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of enriches
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 (up)
smartens
smartens (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Smartens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smartens. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All