sweetening

verb

Definition of sweeteningnext
present participle of sweeten
as in enhancing
to make more desirable we really want you to work for our company—what can we do to sweeten the job offer?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of sweetening Rob McDaniel, executive chef of Bayonet and Helen in Birmingham, Alabama, supports this idea for sweetening your tea. — Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 18 July 2026 But my favorite might be the slaw dog, with coleslaw cooling and sweetening the slightly spicy chili beneath. — Usa Today Network, USA Today, 15 July 2026 Without the match sweetening the deal, the argument for prioritizing retirement contributions over debt payoff weakens somewhat — though the tax deduction on traditional 401(k) contributions still has value. — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 1 July 2026 Only sweetening the deal this year is the fact that her friend Anthony Vaccarello of Saint Laurent is co-chairing the hosting committee. — Irene Kim, Vogue, 4 May 2026 Coffee giant Starbucks is looking to encourage its baristas and hourly workers to improve their sales and customer service by sweetening the pot with bigger financial perks. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026 Last year, Pritzker signed an onerous bill sweetening firefighter and police pensions that will cost Chicagoans tens of millions of dollars more annually without extra help from the state. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026 Indiana lawmakers advanced a measure to require data center companies to fork over 1% of their sales tax exemption savings to local governments, sweetening the deal for local officials embroiled in the data center fights sweeping the state. — Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 3 Feb. 2026 Instead of sweetening it, the relatives clamped a sugar cube between their incisors and loudly sucked the tea through it. — Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sweetening
  1. enhancing
  2. improving
  3. ameliorating
Verb
  • To build trust and integrate with international markets, Central Asian governments and banks are proactively enhancing compliance standards, often exceeding local regulations, to ensure transparent and secure financial transactions.
    — Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • Sarandos said many of the shows have used AI tools for pre-vis, VFX, set references, and post-production, but also in the case of things like enhancing crowd shots or historical battle scenes.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 16 July 2026
Definition of enhancing
Verb
  • Fedorov, previously Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, had been in the job for just six months and was popular among troops for improving pay and frontline rotations.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
  • Intel's willingness to buy these expensive machines is a positive signal that its foundry (chip industry-speak for manufacturing) is expanding capacity and improving yields for leading-edge chips.
    — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 15 July 2026
Definition of improving
Verb
  • Skau warned that as attention turns towards ameliorating the security crisis, resources should not be taken away from addressing the surging humanitarian needs, which include more than 5 million people who do not have enough to eat.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
  • Taking control of the narrative is the first step to ameliorating the damage.
    — David Rivera, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of ameliorating

Browse Nearby Words

sweetened
sweetening
sweetens
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sweetening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sweetening. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on sweetening

Nglish: Translation of sweetening for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sweetening

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of maverick

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

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

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
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
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All