STRAIGHTENING (UP OR OUT) Synonyms: 49 Similar and Opposite Words

straightening (up or out)

verb

present participle of straighten (up or out)

as in shaping up

to change one's behavior or character for the better I hope that rehab will help her straighten up for good

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in trimming

to make neat a directive for everyone to straighten up their cubicle in preparation for a visit from some corporate VIPs

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for straightening (up or out)

Verb

Cooler, clearer weather across Maryland Monday and Tuesday are shaping up to be be the nicest days of the workweek.

— Cutter Martin, CBS News, 12 Sep. 2026
The rich, delicious-looking hue is making its way onto flats, which are quickly shaping up to be one of fall 2026’s biggest shoe trends—and Julia Roberts, Kate Middleton, and Katie Holmes seem to agree.

— Grace Scollo, InStyle, 12 Sep. 2026

Definition of shaping up

Verb

Even with that, policymakers must continue evaluating whether survivor benefits adequately reflect the long-term economic realities facing military families, while improving coordination and accessibility across programs.

— Cristina Johnson, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
In some cases, this may also require modernizing legacy systems or improving integration between existing manufacturing and IT platforms.

— Nishkam Batta, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of improving

Verb

Comparing unauthorized immigration to an invasion has become increasingly common among politicians including Nigel Farage of Reform UK, and far-right groups that have been active in organizing and attending anti-immigrant protests.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
Some need only light intelligence—converting structured output into natural language, organizing OCR results or classifying simple requests.

— Nitin Gupta, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of organizing

Verb

Assembly Bill 113 was the last budget trailer bill to pass through the Legislature during this session, amending the 2026-27 budget to allocate additional funds to issue areas such as healthcare, housing and disaster relief, among others.

— Sofia Williams, Sacbee.com, 1 Sep. 2026
The complex legislation — added by gutting and amending a bill known as Senate Bill 492 — was introduced less than three days before the legislative session was to end Monday.

— Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of amending

Verb

The case turned into a years-long legal saga, with multiple people convicted of their roles in arranging the hit, including Wendi’s brother, Charlie Adelson, and her mother, Donna.

— Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
Britain’s populist Reform UK said two senior aides to leader Nigel Farage stepped down on Friday after an undercover investigation alleged the party had broken electoral law by arranging for a foreign donor to pay for political polling.

— NBC news, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of arranging

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straightening (up)

straightening (up or out)

straighten (out)

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“Straightening (up or out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straightening%20%28up%20or%20out%29. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of straightening (up or out)

verb

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