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Glite Dictionary
to glow up

to glow up

1 8.0
To become much more attractive and confident in how you look
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡloʊ ʌp/
  • Slang
translation icon : mejorar
  • Many teenagers experience a glow up as they transition from middle school to high school.

Examples

  • So part of my glow up that is long term is I have been working out every single day.

  • You know, I have a lot of plans for me to glow up this week.

  • To complete this glow up, I am going to go on a little shopping trip.

  • This is a back to school glow up so let's go start the day.

  • Let's have a little springtime glow up together, shall we?

  • So I thought I would just put my makeup on and finalize my glow up with you guys.

  • It is time to let go of the enemies of progress and actually glow up and make transformation truly happen in your life.

  • After months of effort, she finally decided to glow up by changing her hairstyle and wardrobe.

  • Getting fit and trying new styles helped him glow up over the past year.

Synonyms

to brighten up
vsto glow up
  • Informal
17 2.7

Make a room or person more cheerful

focuses on long-term stylistic improvement rather than mood or quick change
to pretty up
vsto glow up
  • Informal
6 4.3

Make people and places look nicer by dressing up, adding decorations, or using makeup

is a broader, often lasting change in appearance and style over time
to glam up
vsto glow up
  • Informal
1 6.8

Make yourself or someone more stylish using clothes and makeup

is a lasting improvement in appearance and style that happens over time

Antonyms

decline
439 3.9

A gradual loss in amount, quality, or value

to deteriorate
146 5.9

To get worse in quality, condition, or value

How Improved

to transform
523 3.4
to glow up
  • Slang
1 8.0
to improve
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

glow up infinitive
glowed up past
glowed up past participle
glowing up present participle
glows up third person singular

Morphology

glow + up

The combination of 'glow' (to be radiant/healthy-looking) with the particle 'up' (indicating increase or improvement) yields a fairly direct metaphoric sense of becoming noticeably more attractive or polished, so a learner who knows both constituents can often infer the general idea. However, the informal/slang nuance (a socially salient, sometimes gradual transformation with evaluative connotations) and the specific pragmatic usage are not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is best treated as only partly transparent.

Etymology

Glow up may come from the image of someone who starts to glow — shining with health or new confidence — and goes up to a better look. On social media, before-and-after photos made this idea mean 'to noticeably improve your appearance, style, or confidence'.