Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

smarten up

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.13 in modern English

Syllables: smarten up
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To wear smart clothes and look more stylish

Intransitive verb

verb

To make something look smart or smarter.

Intransitive verb

verb

To become less stupid or naive

Intransitive verb

verb

To make less stupid or naive

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"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."

Usage

Inflected Forms

smartens up (present, singular) smartening up (participle, present) smartened up (participle, past) smartened up (past)

Phrases

tart up dumb down

Frequently Paired Words

tart up dumb down

Synonyms

spruce up spruce slick up titivate tittivate spiff up

Questions

What does smarten up mean?: To wear smart clothes and look more stylish

How to pronounce smarten up

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