to bolster up
- phrasal verb
- /ˈboʊlstər ʌp/
:
reforzar
- I think I did so to kind of bolster up the look of this whole area because we have puffer fish kind of going through here.
Yeah, well, well, what happened with me was I'll just give you a quick example to bolster up what I said.
- Yeah, well, well, what happened with me was I'll just give you a quick example to bolster up what I said.
- Now that area is is bolstered, bolstered up by meditation, they found, and it has a mediating influence on the amygdala.
Examples
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Unhappily, religion is used to cover or bolster up a number of bad practices.
Academic text (2000) -
Yeah, well, well, what happened with me was I'll just give you a quick example to bolster up what I said.
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Yeah, well, well, what happened with me was I'll just give you a quick example to bolster up what I said.
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He has to have somebody to bolster up his arguments against my theories.
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Now that area is is bolstered, bolstered up by meditation, they found, and it has a mediating influence on the amygdala.
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On his account, legal positivism constitutes a specifically modern theory of law in the sense that it attempts to articulate conceptually and bolster up that which is distinctive about modern law, i.e., the pride of place that legislation is given within legal thought and practice.
Academic text (2018) -
The team needed extra resources to bolster up their performance in the final match.
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To improve her public speaking skills, she took a course to bolster up her confidence.
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The new charity program aims to bolster up support for families in need in the community.
Synonyms
327
3.0
To make muscles, relationships, or groups stronger
215
3.7
To help someone become better off or more confident
150
4.4
To make something stronger or prepare yourself for something difficult
99
3.9
Make something stronger by adding support or extra parts
84
4.3
To give extra support to a person, plan, or idea
54
3.6
Support something so it does not fall or fail
34
4.5
To make something stronger or more effective
30
5.4
Support a weak thing so it does not fall or fail
23
3.2
To make someone feel happier and more hopeful
19
3.7
To make someone feel happier and more hopeful
15
5.3
To keep someone or something floating and give them hope
14
6.3
To become or make someone more cheerful and confident
3
7.0
Make someone feel happier and full of energy
3
5.1
Make something stronger by adding support or protection
To make something strong and supported from below with extra beams
To make someone feel more cheerful and confident
To make someone feel stronger in their mind or feelings
How Supportive
- Specialized
1
7.3
99
3.9
30
5.4
54
3.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'bolster' already means to provide support, and the particle 'up' adds an intensifying or augmentative sense (to raise or strengthen). This verb + up composition follows a common and predictable English pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning 'to support or strengthen'.
Etymology
The phrasal verb bolster up comes from the word bolster, a long stuffed pillow people used to prop things up. Putting a bolster under something made it firmer, so the phrase came to mean 'to support or strengthen'.