as in to trim
to make neat
hurriedly sprucing up the hotel dining room before the breakfast crowd began showing up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spruce (up)
Verb
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Hachimura helped the Lakers stay the course after their lead was trimmed to two points with 27 seconds left.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026 -
Officials say the goats will practically climb over each other to reach them, turning bush-trimming into a competitive sport.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The $720-million structure will serve as the new home for LACMA’s permanent collection with 90 exhibition galleries organized thematically rather than by medium or chronology.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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More people have to organize to ensure that their communities understand what the votes actually count towards.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors claim Sainz Salazar served as a key fentanyl producer for the Chapitos from about 2022 through 2025, helping manufacture millions of pills, arranging drug transactions under armed protection and operating labs that later became central to the group’s fentanyl production.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Mustique also has a small hotel, Cotton House, where 17 guest rooms and suites are arranged between a two-story building and a series of garden cottages.—
Flora Stubbs,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Spruce (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spruce%20%28up%29. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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