prettify

P3R1E1T1T1I1F4Y4
UK/ˈpɹɪtɪfʌɪ/

verb

To make pretty or prettier, to make more attractive, especially only in a superficial way.

Similar
pretty upbeautifypretty-printfancifyembellish
Opposite
minifyuglify
First used 17th c.Scrabble 16
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Meanings

verbprettify (third-person singular simple present prettifies, present participle prettifying, simple past and past participle prettified)

present singular third person prettifies · participle present prettifying · participle past prettified · past prettified

  1. transitiveTo make pretty or prettier, to make more attractive, especially only in a superficial way.First known use 17th c.

    Old-fashioned bosses see their role as prettifying the office and forming a pool of potential marriage partners for male employees.

    2011 November 5, “Land of the wasted talent”, in The Economist

    Synonyms: pretty up

  2. transitivecomputingSynonym of pretty-print.

    Synonyms: beautify, pretty-print · Antonyms: minify, uglify

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo make pretty or prettier, to make more attractive, especially only in a superficial way.

Similar
pretty up

verbSynonym of pretty-print.

Similar
beautifypretty-print
Opposite
minifyuglify

More synonyms by meaning

verbmake more beautiful

Similar
fancifybeautifyembellish
Broader
betterimproveamend
Also see
adoreadornbeautifydecorateembellishfancifypretty-printpretty upspruce

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From pretty + -fy.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian разкрасявам
  • разкрасявам (razkrasjavam)make pretty or prettier
Chinese Mandarin 美化, 修飾 /修饰
  • 美化 (měihuà)make pretty or prettier
  • 修飾 /修饰 (xiūshì)make pretty or prettier
  • 裝飾 /装饰 (zhuāngshì)make pretty or prettier
  • 點綴 /点缀 (diǎnzhuì)make pretty or prettier
  • 粉飾 /粉饰 (fěnshì)make pretty or prettier
Finnish kaunistaa, kaunistella
  • kaunistaamake pretty or prettier
  • kaunistellamake pretty or prettier
French enjoliver
  • enjolivermake pretty or prettier
Greek ωραιοποιώεξωραΐζω
  • ωραιοποιώεξωραΐζω (oraiopoió)make pretty or prettier
Italian abbellire
  • abbelliremake pretty or prettier
Polish upiększać, upiększyć
  • upiększaćmake pretty or prettier
  • upiększyćmake pretty or prettier
Spanish embellecer
  • embellecermake pretty or prettier
Cite this entry
APA

prettify. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prettify

MLA

“prettify.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prettify. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prettify,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prettify.

Source: prettify on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.