bucked up
1
8.1
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
animado
- She felt bucked up after receiving the good news.
Examples
-
She felt bucked up after receiving praise from her manager.
-
His kind words really bucked up my spirits during a tough time.
-
The team was bucked up by their unexpected victory.
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After the compliment, he was really bucked up.
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After receiving some good news, she felt totally bucked up and ready to tackle her challenges.
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His compliments really bucked up her spirits during a tough time.
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The motivational speech left the crowd feeling bucked up and excited about their future.
Synonyms
46
3.0
Being sure you can do something well
8
5.1
Very excited and full of energy because something good is about to happen
1
7.5
Ready and excited to do something important
1
7.5
Feeling excited and full of energy about something
More confident and willing to try after getting support
Feeling more confident to take action
You feel less worried because someone or something calms you
Feeling happy and proud because something made you feel better
Antonyms
How Confident
Surface Forms
Morphology
The particle 'up' conveys increase or improvement which aligns with 'feeling more confident', but the verb 'buck' does not independently mean 'cheer' or 'encourage' in a transparent way; the combined sense is a phrasal verb ('buck up') meaning 'cheer up/encourage'. Because the meaning relies on a conventionalized phrasal-verb reading rather than straightforward composition of the two constituent senses, a B1 learner who only knows the separate words would likely not fully predict the adjectival meaning without exposure.
Etymology
The phrase bucked up may come from the image of a horse that bucks and jumps, making a rider grab on and feel stronger. So, when someone is bucked up today, they feel 'encouraged' and more confident.