Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sweeten

/ˈswiːtən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables
sweet-en
IPA
/ˈswiːtən/
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make sweet to the taste.

Transitive verb

verb

To make (more) pleasant or to the mind or feelings.

Transitive verb

verb

To make mild or kind; to soften.

Transitive verb

verb

To make less painful or laborious; to relieve.

Transitive verb

verb

To soften to the eye; to make delicate.

Transitive verb

verb

To make pure and healthful by destroying noxious matter.

Transitive verb

verb

To make warm and fertile.

Transitive verb

verb

To raise the pH of (a soil) by adding alkali.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From sweet + -en. Eclipsed non-native Middle English doucen and endoucen, borrowed from Old French adoucir and endoucir (“to sweeten”).

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

sweetens (present, singular) sweetening (participle, present) sweetened (participle, past) sweetened (past) Sweetens (plural)

Derived Forms

besweeten outsweeten oversweeten presweeten resweeten sweetener unsweeten

Phrases

artificially sweetened back-sweeten sweeten the pill sweeten the pot sweeten up

Synonyms

dulcify edulcorate dulcorate

Antonyms

sour

Rhymes With

beaten eaten eaton unbeaten keaton eton wheaton heaton seton seaton teton beaton

Questions

How do you pronounce sweeten?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈswiːtən/.
What does sweeten mean?
To make sweet to the taste.
Where does sweeten come from?
From sweet + -en. Eclipsed non-native Middle English doucen and endoucen, borrowed from Old French adoucir and endoucir (“to sweeten”).

How to pronounce sweeten

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sweeten”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈswiːtən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sweeten”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “sweeten” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.