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to spirit up

to spirit up

3 7.0
Make someone feel happier and full of energy
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : animar
  • "She lost everything in that tornado, but she kept her spirits up."
  • keep spirits up

And, you know, I, I, I used to give a class and at UCLA called Keeping your spirits up for creative people.

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Examples

  • There were times that were really hard, but Carol and her staff always kept my spirits up.

  • Throughout her treatment, her husband kept her spirits up by bringing her favorite books.

  • You need to keep your spirits up.

  • I think it's great how you manage to keep your spirits up.

  • Anyway, I hope you guys are, you know, staying safe and having a good routine and keeping your spirits up as best you can.

  • I'm trying to keep my spirits up.

  • She's just trying to keep her spirits up.

  • We have to keep our spirits up, so we don't think about being tired.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I know a lot of you have been watching mine and Mark's vlogs over the past couple of weeks just to keep your spirits up, which I love.

  • Jamie, losing's never fun, but here's something to pick your spirits up.

Synonyms

to cheer
vsto spirit up
392 1.0

To make someone feel happier

covers the same mood change but as a general encouragement
to cheer up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
234 1.4

To feel happier after being sad or to make someone feel happier

is used broadly for encouragement not only after upset
to lift
vsto spirit up
215 3.7

To help someone become better off or more confident

is mainly about encouraging feelings rather than changing status
to fire up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
70 4.1

Make people feel excited and ready to act

is milder, aiming to encourage rather than provoke strong feelings
to liven up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
66 3.9

To make or become more active and interesting

is the focused act of encouraging a person rather than enlivening objects
to pump up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
28 4.1

Make someone feel excited and full of energy

is a calmer encouragement aiming to boost mood rather than excite
to uplift
vsto spirit up
23 3.2

To make someone feel happier and more hopeful

is the practical action of encouraging rather than formal inspiration
to lift up
vsto spirit up
19 3.7

To make someone feel happier and more hopeful

is the practical action of encouraging rather than lofty inspiration
to reinvigorate
vsto spirit up
19 5.7

To give new energy and interest to a person or thing

is about simple encouragement rather than full renewal of vigor
to brighten up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
17 2.7

Make a room or person more cheerful

focuses on emotional enlivening rather than appearance changes
to perk up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
16 3.1

Become more lively and cheerful after feeling tired or sad

is used generally for encouragement, not only recovery from low energy
to buck up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
14 6.3

To become or make someone more cheerful and confident

is the general act of encouraging rather than a quick push
to hearten
vsto spirit up
13 5.5

Make someone feel happier or more confident

is the broader action of encouraging or enlivening someone
to lift one's spirits
vsto spirit up
8 3.9

To make someone feel happier

is used generally, not only for making oneself feel better
to boost morale
vsto spirit up
5 3.7

Make people feel more confident and positive

is similar but applies equally to individuals and collective encouragement
to reenergize
vsto spirit up
  • US
3 4.1

To give new energy and enthusiasm to a person or thing

is the everyday action of encouraging rather than renewing vitality
to pep up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
3 4.1

Make someone or something more lively and interesting

is the steady act of encouraging, not only quick liveliness increases
to hype up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
3 5.6

To make someone feel very excited about something

is the general encouragement without the promotional excitement
to lift someone's spirits
vsto spirit up
1 3.9

To make someone feel happier when they are sad

is the general verb meaning to encourage or enliven someone
to spirit
vsto spirit up
1 6.8

To make someone feel lively, brave, or full of energy

expresses the same enlivening idea but as an everyday encouragement
1 3.4

Help someone feel happier

is the same idea but in a shorter everyday phrase
to buoy up
vsto spirit up
5.3

To make someone feel more cheerful and confident

is the general idea of encouraging and enlivening a person
to inspirit
vsto spirit up
  • Archaic
7.4

To give someone energy, courage, or determination

is broader, covering general encouragement and morale boosting
to inspirited
vsto spirit up
  • Archaic
7.4

To make someone feel brave and excited

is the general act of encouraging rather than a descriptive state
to bolster up
vsto spirit up
4.2

To give help to someone or something to make them stronger

focuses on emotional encouragement rather than physical or structural support
to juice up
vsto spirit up
  • Informal
6.7

Make an event like a party more lively and exciting

is the normal act of encouraging rather than an informal boost
to jolly up
vsto spirit up
  • UK
8.2

To try to make someone feel happier when they are sad

is broader encouragement not limited to creating merriment
to chirk up
vsto spirit up
  • Archaic
8.6

To make someone feel happier or more lively

is the general encouraging action rather than this specific cheerful change

Antonyms

257 3.5

To try to stop something by making people less willing to do it

33 6.1

To make someone lose confidence or hope

How Encouraging

to inspire
837 3.2
to encourage
2.3
to spirit up
  • Informal
3 7.0
to cheer up
  • Informal
234 1.4
to perk up
  • Informal
16 3.1
comfort
319 1.0

Surface Forms

spirit up infinitive
spirited up past participle
spirit up present participle
spirits up third person singular

Morphology

spirit + up

The meaning 'to encourage or enliven someone' is directly composed from 'spirit' (to imbue with liveliness/courage) plus the particle 'up' (to raise/increase), following a standard verb+particle pattern. This transparent compositional logic is cross-linguistically common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Spirit up comes from the simple image of lifting someone's energy: spirit is their mood or liveliness and up means to raise it. So to spirit up someone is 'to encourage' or 'to boost someone's morale' by making them feel more lively.