Meanings
present singular third person titivates · participle present titivating · participle past titivated · past titivated · alternative tidivate · alternative tiddivate · alternative tittivate
- transitiveTo make small improvements or alterations to (one's appearance etc.); to add some finishing touches to, to spruce up or touch up.
Had she spent the best part of a day in titivating herself in order that she might sit plunged in darkness, with nothing but her feet and her nose revealed?
1950, Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast
Synonyms & antonyms
verbmake neat, smart, or trim
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
A modification of the earlier spelling tidivate, perhaps based on tidy + -vate, on the pattern of words such as cultivate and renovate.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian украсявам се, спретвам се
- украсявам сеto make small improvements to
- спретвам сеto make small improvements to
Czech vyšňořit
- vyšňořitto make small improvements to
Finnish huolitella, viimeistellä
- huolitellato make small improvements to
- viimeistelläto make small improvements to
- huosiato make small improvements to
- pyntätäto make small improvements to
- tällätäto make small improvements to
- hiplatato make small improvements to
French pomponner
- pomponnerto make small improvements to
German schniedeln
- schniedelnto make small improvements to
Japanese しゃれる
- しゃれるto make small improvements to
Polish odpicowywać, odpicować
- odpicowywaćto make small improvements to
- odpicowaćto make small improvements to
Portuguese enfeitar, enfeitar-se
- enfeitarto make small improvements to
- enfeitar-seto make small improvements to
Russian наряжа́ть, наряжаться
- наряжа́ть (narjažátʹ)to make small improvements to
- наряжаться (narjažatʹsja)to make small improvements to
- прихорашивать (prixorašivatʹ)to make small improvements to
- прихорашиваться (prixorašivatʹsja)to make small improvements to
Spanish arreglar, afeitar
- arreglarto make small improvements to
- afeitarto make small improvements to
- adornarto make small improvements to
- vestirse de galato make small improvements to
Cite this entry
titivate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/titivate
“titivate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/titivate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “titivate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/titivate.
Source: titivate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.