1
2
as in trimmed
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 straightened (up or out)
Verb
-
Throw in an attempt to help part of Illinois secede and join the Hoosier state and visits from everyone from Tucker Carlson to JD Vance, and 2025 has shaped up to be quite a barn burner.—
Hayleigh Colombo,
IndyStar,
24 Oct. 2025 -
If Joe Burrow were playing, this could have shaped up to be a barnburner a la December along the Ohio River.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Threes from Holiday and Camara, layups by Caleb Love and a succession of Grant free throws trimmed the deficit to 10 by the end of the quarter as the Celtics’ offense began to stagnate.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Today his beard was neatly trimmed.—
Nell Freudenberger,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
LeBron James scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half as Los Angeles improved to 3-1 on an eight-game trip.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
An indicator of overall loan demand improved for a second quarter but remained far below its level in late 2024, according to a separate survey of banks.—
Bloomberg,
Bloomberg,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
It was organized by the New York Immigration Coalition.—
Ali Bauman,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Her brother shaved his head alongside her, while friends organized care packages, drove her to sessions and offered constant encouragement.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The agency’s authority to investigate stems from Senate Bill 553, which was amended to broaden the scope of employers, including law enforcement agencies, to maintain workplace violence prevention plans.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
9 Jan. 2026
-
An earlier update from King Soopers had listed some locations in Boulder and Littleton but the company amended its location list to include five fewer locations, lowering the number of gas stations impacted to 14 locations.—
Jennifer McRae,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Inside, there are three concentric circles of chairs arranged on a red carpet and, overhead, a white globe resembling a hot-air balloon.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
-
According to some of the documents, witnesses described a system where Maxwell and Epstein arranged domestic and international travel, provided logistical support for passports, and used modeling fronts to recruit foreign nationals.—
Luke Barr,
ABC News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Falvey behaved as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, smiling and reminiscing and even telling the story of his awkward first interaction with the late Sid Hartman.—
Aaron Gleeman,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The labor market has behaved strangely since the pandemic.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 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
“Straightened (up or out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straightened%20%28up%20or%20out%29. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
