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Glite Dictionary
to shine up

to shine up

1 8.0
Try to make someone like you by giving fake praise or acting friendly
  • phrasal verb
  • /ʃaɪn ʌp/
  • Informal
translation icon : adular
  • Do you have to shine up to him like that?

Examples

  • He always tries to shine up to the manager by bringing her coffee every morning.

  • Soon as I try to shine up to folks I'm gawky as a scrub oak.

    Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

  • It seems like Jake is trying to shine up to his new boss with all those compliments.

  • When she noticed him being overly friendly, she realized he was trying to shine up to her.

Synonyms

to suck up
vsto shine up
  • Informal
26 8.0

To praise someone to get their approval

is similar but lacks the strong servile behavior
to kiss up
vsto shine up
  • Informal
16 7.9

Say nice things to someone to get their help or a reward

is mainly for personal advantage rather than simply wanting to be liked
to butter up
vsto shine up
  • Informal
13 4.2

Say nice things to someone to get what you want

is broader focusing on general ingratiation rather than heavy flattery
to cozy up
vsto shine up
  • Informal
6 7.0

To try to make someone like you for your own advantage, often in a fake way

is similar but stresses getting better treatment rather than just being liked
to sidle up
vsto shine up
4 7.6

To move close to someone quietly to pretend to be friendly and get their favour

is about the quiet approach rather than only seeking favor directly
to play up
vsto shine up
  • Informal
1 5.5

Try to get someone's approval by giving false praise

is similar but focuses on being liked rather than flattering actions
to cotton up
vsto shine up
  • UK
9.8

To act friendly to someone to get what you want

is the same meaning expressed in a different phrase

Antonyms

to offend
524 2.8

Cause a person to feel hurt, upset and angry because of your words or actions

to alienate
123 6.7

To make someone feel alone and lose support from others

How Ingratiating

to grovel
42 7.4
to curry favor
  • US
10 7.4
to shine up
  • Informal
1 8.0
to butter up
  • Informal
13 4.2
to flatter
100 3.6
to compliment
95 1.6

Surface Forms

shine up infinitive
shining up present participle
shines up third person singular
shone up past
shone up past participle

Morphology

shine + up

There is a loose compositional link: 'shine' (to stand out or appear impressive) plus the particle 'up' (an intensifying or directional element) can lead learners to guess a meaning like 'try to look better or impress someone.' However, the specific sense 'to ingratiate oneself with often insincere praise' and the pragmatic nuance of flattery are not reliably derivable from the parts, and verb+up combinations are unpredictable across languages, so a B1 learner would only arrive at a partial or uncertain interpretation.

Etymology

The phrasal verb shine up comes from the image of someone polishing a shoe or mirror to make it shine and look better for an important person. So, to shine up to a boss means acting extra nice or praising them 'to get someone to like you'.