straighten (up or out)

verb

Definition of straighten (up or out)next
1
as in to improve
to change one's behavior or character for the better I hope that rehab will help her straighten up for good

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to trim
to make neat a directive for everyone to straighten up their cubicle in preparation for a visit from some corporate VIPs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for straighten (up or out)
  1. improve
  2. trim
  3. shape up
  4. organize
  5. amend
  6. arrange
  7. behave
  8. better
Verb
  • Just the other day, a source was venting to me about how Silicon Valley billionaires have failed to use their wealth to improve their own surroundings.
    — Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 11 Nov. 2026
  • The company also plans to improve response depth, conversational continuity, and personalization as GPT-Live develops.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of improve
Verb
  • Arenberg Seltzer emphasized that the council aims to maintain after-school care programs and could look at trimming specific components, such as field trips or job exploration.
    — Bri Buckley, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • The active suspension constantly trims the car’s aerodynamic pitch while the GitiSport e·GTR 2 PRO semi-slick tires are engineered to survive centrifugal forces that would shred ordinary rubber.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of trim
Verb
  • Rain could begin late Wednesday night, with Thursday shaping up to be a wet day.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026
  • But the bid for the city’s northernmost District 1 has shaped up to be a close one, with incumbent Melinda Liu pushing ahead with 142 votes as of Friday’s update on vote counting.
    — Victoria Le, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of shape up
Verb
  • Walter Glomb, executive director of the Connecticut State Council on Developmental Disabilities, said Thursday’s gathering was organized to send a message to Lamont not to mess with disability services.
    — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 13 Nov. 2026
  • The Texas politician, whose own presidential and Senate bids have failed, has thrown himself into organizing.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of organize
Verb
  • If Democrats agree to the changes, there will be another voice vote to amend the text.
    — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Senate Bill 1267 amends the long-time Civil Code Section 4745 protection of electric vehicle charging stations within HOAs.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, Oc Register, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of amend
Verb
  • Different manufacturers develop their own interfaces, forcing operators to consider compatibility before arranging fuel transfers.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Our meeting was arranged by Dana Gold, an attorney at the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower-advocacy organization.
    — Eyal Press, New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of arrange
Verb
  • The new material combines kerosene, lecithin, and calcium chloride to produce a gel that behaves more like a soft solid at rest but flows when subjected to force or heat, according to a study.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Your body behaves as though something dangerous is happening.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of behave
Verb
  • On top of emphasizing a core value set aimed at bettering the working class, many DSA candidates tapped into voter frustrations with the larger political system.
    — Elena Moore, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Forty-three percent of US adults say the federal government is effective at bettering people’s lives, down from 51% in 2025, according to a new Bentley University-Gallup survey.
    — Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of better
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

straighten (up)
straighten (up or out)
straight-faced
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Straighten (up or out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straighten%20%28up%20or%20out%29. Accessed 14 Nov. 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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

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
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All