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Glite Dictionary
😏 To show pride 🪶 To clean feathers 🪞 To groom carefully
to preen

to preen

1 7.0
To dress and arrange your hair carefully to look good
  • verb
  • /priːn/
translation icon : arreglarse
  • She took a moment to preen in front of the mirror, adjusting her hair and outfit carefully.
  • primp and preen
  • preens in front
  • preened and posed

Listen, if your only problem is that your partner were to keep preening in the mirror, wouldn't that be nice?

Examples

  • How many guys do you think sort of preen themselves like this?

  • Every upwardly mobile metropolis needs a place for its beautiful people to preen, and this is Saigon's.

    Blog text (1)

  • "Well, then," she said, and she preened herself as if she were pleased with what she'd accomplished.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Under normal circumstances, we show up on Twitter to preen, self-promote, and crack wise about the latest celebrity scene.

    Blog text (33)

  • Listen, if your only problem is that your partner were to keep preening in the mirror, wouldn't that be nice?

    DoctorRamani

  • On the bathroom door was a mirror panel, in front of which Dolly preened.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • She can recognize herself in the mirror and start preening like Kim Kardashian or somebody.

  • Look at these people in the gym, endlessly preening, posing, and hopefully improving their bodies.

  • Marie preened before the mirror, admiring herself in the designer dress Carl had bought for her homecoming day.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • SELINA'S LOFT - NIGHT. Soft music plays in the background as SELINA preens in front of a vanity, doing her eye makeup and taking great pleasure in her own reflection.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

to groom
vsto preen
40 2.3

To make hair or fur clean and neat by brushing

focuses on styling oneself with careful attention to appearance
to primp
vsto preen
  • Informal
8 7.2

To get ready by fixing your clothes, hair, or makeup carefully

is careful neat grooming without a sense of excess
to plume
vsto preen
  • Literature
1 7.9

To dress or groom yourself with great pride and care

is careful grooming focused on neat appearance rather than showy display
to prim
vsto preen
1 8.1

To act or dress in a very formal, proper way

is concerned with careful attractive grooming rather than formal affectation
to prink
vsto preen
  • Archaic
9.9

To dress carefully to look fancy

is careful grooming without fussy or overly decorative style
to prim up
vsto preen
7.6

To dress neatly and formally for an event

is more about careful attractive styling than mere neat formality

Compounds

preen gland
  • Specialized
8.4

An oil gland at the base of a bird's tail that birds use to spread oil on their feathers

How Groomed

to primp
  • Informal
8 7.2
to preen
1 7.0
to dress
∞ 1.0
to spruce up
  • Informal
13 3.8
tidy
47 1.0

Surface Forms

preen infinitive
preened past
preened past participle
preening present participle
preens third person singular

Etymology

Preen also means to dress or groom yourself with great care because people used the bird image of fixing feathers to talk about fixing clothes and hair; so to preen is to make yourself look neat and attractive, 'to dress or groom carefully'.