to freshen up
4
3.0
- phrasal verb
- /ˈfrɛʃən ʌp/
- Informal
:
refrescar
- But yeah, it helps us freshen up our our interior, especially if we don't want to, you know, hold on to one piece of art for forever.
- Let's freshen up
- need to freshen up
- freshen up the place
It smells amazing and so I keep that in there just to kind of top up, freshen up my headphones.
- It smells amazing and so I keep that in there just to kind of top up, freshen up my headphones.
- Maybe think there's some pieces in here you're pulling out those fall clothes that it's just like time to retire, freshen things up.
- And then I just a little bit of scallions, just a little greenness to freshen up this this complexity of of flavors.
Examples
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Advertising Week executive director Matt Scheckner unwittingly told us the fundamental flaw with this so-called Walk of Fame: "Going back to 2004 when we first started, what we have tried to do is mix classic and contemporary; and by design, we work to freshen it up every year."
Blog text (2) -
If you are intending to go out immediately after you get off work for the night, you can freshen up your look by using a huge, soft brush to dust a flat powder over oily areas on your face.
Blog text (30) -
I would love to freshen up our bedroom.
Blog text (27) -
But it just, I feel like it just freshens up the look of the bronze.
-
But we do need to freshen up the genre.
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I'm going to go and freshen up my drink.
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While I'm there, I think I'll freshen up both our drinks.
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I imagine you'll want to freshen it up.
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I decided to freshen up the living room by adding some new cushions and curtains.
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We need to freshen up the office by painting the walls and reorganizing the furniture.
Synonyms
433
1.0
To make a room or area free of dirt and tidy by removing mess
424
4.0
Make something better or more attractive
93
4.0
Make something better by making a few small changes
70
2.7
Make something or yourself smell and feel clean
50
2.8
Make someone or something feel full of energy and less tired
41
3.2
To change the inside of a room by adding new paint, wallpaper, or furniture
41
4.9
To change something to make it look or work better
31
4.6
To make something clean and like new by fixing or decorating it
27
2.7
To make a place or thing look more cheerful by adding color
26
4.1
To make a place or person look neat and smart
24
5.5
Make a person or thing look and feel younger
19
3.4
Change parts of a room or building to make it look new
13
3.8
To make yourself or a place look cleaner and nicer
9
6.1
Make furniture or floors look new by removing old paint and putting on new paint
9
3.2
To make a place or person more attractive by adding decorations like paint
8
3.8
Make small changes to something to improve how it looks
8
4.2
To make small changes to the look of hair or a photo
6
3.3
To make a room or object look brighter and more cheerful
4
3.5
Make something better by practicing or fixing it
3
4.0
To make a person or thing feel fresh and full of energy
3
8.0
To make something look neater and more attractive with small changes
3
4.6
Neat and attractive, often dressed or decorated for a special occasion
3
3.9
To make someone or something look neater and more attractive
2
3.9
To change the style of something, for example hair or clothes
1
7.2
Make a person or place look neater and nicer by cleaning and adding small things
1
5.0
Make something look more attractive, often only on the surface
1
5.8
To make something better in how it works or how it looks
1
4.8
Make yourself or a place look neater and more stylish
1
6.7
To put new material on the surface of something so it looks new
To make something feel new and alive again
To make something more attractive by adding new parts
To make something old look new by fixing or cleaning it
To change the appearance or design to make it more modern
Make a surface shine again by rubbing it
To make a reputation or image look better by hiding problems
To make something look more beautiful or artistic
How Fresh
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to make something look cleaner or more attractive' is directly compositional from 'freshen' (restore freshness/cleanliness) plus the particle 'up' indicating improvement or intensification. This verb+up pattern is a productive, cross-linguistically familiar construction, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Freshen up probably comes from the image of adding fresh paint, flowers, or a few small repairs to make a room look more fresh, with up showing a little improvement; that's why it means 'to make something look cleaner, brighter, or more attractive'.