straightening (up or out)

verb

present participle of straighten (up or out)
1
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
2
as in trimming
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 straightening (up or out)
  1. shaping up
  2. trimming
  3. improving
  4. organizing
  5. amending
  6. arranging
Verb
  • How is 2026 shaping up to be for film and television in Oklahoma?
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026
  • And after the nail-biting first finish, game two was shaping up to be just as close, with the pair going shot-for-shot until Chris Allen gave the Riot a 17-12 advantage — the largest of the matchup so far.
    — Ava DiCecca, Sun Sentinel, 5 July 2026
Definition of shaping up
Verb
  • Conviction should not prevent an investor from trimming or exiting once the valuation has absorbed the catalyst.
    — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
  • While some varieties will rebloom without deadheading, trimming fading flowers keeps the flower bed from looking tired.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
Definition of trimming
Verb
  • Dworak’s research finds that American adults are improving in certain forms of spatial reasoning.
    — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Thanks to the design, all three elements are evenly separated upon exiting the barrel, improving firing accuracy and substantially increasing the probability of hitting small targets, reported TASS.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 8 July 2026
Definition of improving
Verb
  • Across villages in Punjab, Sikh organizations, local activists and residents have begun organizing community screenings using copies that have circulated online.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 July 2026
  • One of the oldest adages in organizing is that the action is in the reaction.
    — Mike Gecan, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026
Definition of organizing
Verb
  • Recently, the Illinois Register proposed amending the administrative code to update the definitions of the various alcohol categories solely by their production process — not their alcohol content.
    — Adam Hoffer, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026
  • That’s what’s important, so just amending the contract doesn’t work for me.
    — Michael Praats, Charlotte Observer, 4 July 2026
Definition of amending
Verb
  • The two governments had been involved in arranging the game, with cricket seen as a means of strengthening the relationship between the countries.
    — Dominic Fifield, New York Times, 10 July 2026
  • Additionally, avoiding social media posts about travel and arranging for mail collection and trash removal prevents advertising an empty house.
    — Jill Schildhouse, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of arranging
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

straightening (up)
straightening (up or out)
straighten (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Straightening (up or out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straightening%20%28up%20or%20out%29. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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