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smarten up

verb

To wear smart clothes and look more stylish

Similar

spruce up spruce titivate tittivate slick up spiff up

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Meanings

verbsmarten up (third-person singular simple present smartens up, present participle smartening up, simple past and past participle smartened up)

present singular third person smartens up · participle present smartening up · participle past smartened up · past smartened up

intransitiveTo wear smart clothes and look more stylish
intransitiveTo make something look smart or smarter.
All the trains and the 300 stations were smartened up, "and we dared to advertise" - something that had previously been impossible because the offering was not good enough.
2026 April 1, Christian Wolmar, “Managers must be given freedom to make decisions”, in RAIL, number 1058, page 34
intransitiveTo become less stupid or naive
transitiveTo make less stupid or naive

Synonyms & antonyms

verbmake neat, smart, or trim

Similar

spruce up spruce titivate tittivate slick up spiff up

Broader

fancify beautify embellish

verbdress and groom with particular care, as for a special occasion

Similar

spruce up spruce slick up

Broader

Also see

come to one's senses preen primp up slick up spiff up spruce spruce up titivate whet

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

smarten up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smarten%20up

MLA

“smarten up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smarten%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smarten up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smarten%20up.

Source: smarten up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.