to dress something up
56
3.4
- phrasal verb
:
decorar
- And my goal with this is, you know, you could dress it up and make it look much more feminine.
And I love this insight that you can dress it up however you want.
- And I love this insight that you can dress it up however you want.
- But surrounding Azalea through all these different moments, I would always dress her up.
- I got this green maxi dress and I love this because it's it's pretty plain so it's definitely casual or you can even dress it up.
- I'm happy to now dress it up and then share it with you.
Examples
-
If it's an office function, have someone from the office dress up to give out the gifts.
Blog text (19) -
And I obviously have dressed it up with a few plants here.
-
Okay, we gotta dress him up in a suit.
-
I'm happy to now dress it up and then share it with you.
-
And I love this insight that you can dress it up however you want.
-
Look at you, all dressed up in your Sunday go-to-church clothes.
-
Then what're you all dressed up for?
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It's so effortless and chic and you could dress it up or down.
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Take a regular SUV, dress it up a bit, market it a certain way, and voila, you've got luxury that is so prevalent now.
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For the party, she decided to dress up the plain cake with colorful icing and fresh fruits.
Synonyms
226
1.9
To make something look nicer by adding paint, ornaments, or other items
96
3.0
To make food, hair or a place look attractive by adding small items
45
4.9
To put decorations on something to make it look more beautiful
26
4.1
To make a place or person look neat and smart
22
7.6
To dress someone or something in a fancy way
16
3.8
To add small items like jewelry or scarves to clothes to make them look nicer
15
4.1
To make a person or a room look special with clothes and decorations
10
6.3
To make something more beautiful by adding decorative details
10
3.7
Wrap and decorate something like a present to make it look attractive
8
8.7
Make something or someone look fancier by adding decorations
6
4.3
Make people and places look nicer by dressing up, adding decorations, or using makeup
5
8.6
To dress or decorate in a fancy way to look nicer
4
3.7
To add decorations to something to make it look nicer
1
7.4
To make something like a car or outfit look very fancy by adding bright decorations
1
6.8
Make yourself or someone more stylish using clothes and makeup
1
7.2
Make a person or place look neater and nicer by cleaning and adding small things
1
5.7
Make something look nicer by adding decorations
1
2.5
Put paint on something to make it look better
1
5.0
Make something look more attractive, often only on the surface
1
8.9
To make something or someone look bright and showy to attract attention
To make someone or something look fancier to impress people
Make something look more attractive by adding decorations
To make a person or thing look fancy, often in a showy way
To add small not needed decorations to clothes or events to make them seem fancier
Make something look more stylish and attractive
Antonyms
How Fancy
- Informal
5
8.6
56
3.4
226
1.9
- Informal
13
3.8
1
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to make something more attractive or decorative' is directly derivable from combining 'dress' (to ornament or clothe) with the particle 'up', which commonly signals enhancement or completion in verb+particle constructions. This is a productive, compositional pattern in English (and similar decorate/augment constructions exist in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would very likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb dress something up comes from the simple image of putting pretty clothes on a person to make them look special. Thinking of giving clothes to a thing, to dress it up, helps you remember that it means 'to make something more attractive or decorative'.