Sweeten

English

Verb

Sweeten (third-person singular simple present Sweetens, present participle Sweetening, simple past and past participle Sweetened)

1. (transitive) To make sweet to the taste; as, to sweeten tea.
2. (transitive) To make pleasing or grateful to the mind or feelings; as, to sweeten life; to sweeten friendship.
3. (transitive) To make mild or kind; to soften; as, to sweeten the temper.
4. (transitive) To make less painful or laborious; to relieve; as, to sweeten the cares of life.

   And sweeten every secret tear. - John Keble.

5. (transitive) To soften to the eye; to make delicate.

   Correggio has made his memory immortal by the strength he has given to his figures, and by sweetening his lights and shadows, and melting them into each other. - John Dryden.

6. (transitive) To make pure and salubrious by destroying noxious matter; as, to sweeten rooms or apartments that have been infected; to sweeten;;; the air.
7. (transitive) To make warm and fertile; — opposed to sour; as, to dry and sweeten soils.
8. (transitive) To restore to purity; to free from taint; as, to sweeten water, butter, or meat.
9. (transitive) To make more attractive; — said of offers in negotiations, as, to sweeten the deal by increasing the price offered.
10. (intransitive) To become sweet.

Thesaurus

allay, alleviate, appease, assuage, bleach, bowdlerize, brighten, candy, clean, clean out, clean up, cleanse, clear out, conciliate, delouse, depurate, deterge, dress up, dry-clean, dulcify, dust, dust off, ease, edulcorate, embellish, embroider, expurgate, freshen, gild, gild the lily, glaze, honey, lighten, lustrate, mitigate, moderate, mollify, mull, palliate, placate, propitiate, purge, purify, reform, saccharify, scavenge, soften, spruce, steam-clean, sugar, sugar off, sugarcoat, sweep out, temper, tidy, whiten, wipe, wipe off, wipe out, wipe up

Pronunciation

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• Rhymes: -iːtən