spruced up
3
4.6
- phrasal verb
- /sprust ʌp/
- Informal
:
arreglado
- When I appeared (neat and clean, spruced up in stolen clothes, heart buoyed with hope) in front of the guy at the office, the one in charge of human resources, he practically laughed in my face.
- spruced up nicely
- spruced-up home
Examples
-
She spruced herself up.
Fiction book (1995) -
The van drove by the spruced-up "watering hole" Robert L. Cole Community Lake.
Blog text (1) -
In the newly painted, spruced-up cider house, Homer and Candy are dancing to another slow, sexy song on the radio.
Fiction book (1999) -
Before the wedding, she made sure to get all spruced up, wearing a beautiful dress and polished shoes.
-
The city's park was spruced up with new benches and vibrant flowers, making it a lovely spot for families.
-
After their vacation, the house was spruced up, with fresh paint and a tidy garden welcoming guests.
Synonyms
82
2.7
Wearing special formal clothes for a party or event
29
2.4
Wearing neat, clean clothes that look smart, like a suit or nice shirt
22
4.1
Dressed neatly and looking smart for a special event
20
3.7
Having a neat, stylish appearance from careful grooming
16
7.8
Neat and stylish in appearance
9
3.5
Neat and tidy in appearance with clean clothes and neat hair
7
6.9
Dressed in fancy clothes and makeup for a special event
3
7.6
Wearing very elegant formal clothes for a special occasion
1
6.8
Wearing very attractive, stylish clothes to get people's attention
1
7.4
Dressed in nice clothes or made to look neat and attractive
1
6.3
Dressed in smart, formal clothes for a special event
Wearing stylish, elegant clothes
Wearing smart clothes for a special event
To wear nice clothes for a special event
Neat and clean in appearance because someone cares for it
Looks tidy and neat after an extra effort to look good
Antonyms
How Neat
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'made tidy and attractive' follows directly from combining 'spruce' (to tidy or smarten) with the particle 'up' (indicating completion or improvement). This verb+particle composition is a common, compositional English pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Spruced up may come from the picture of a neat spruce tree and the word up meaning 'made more', so it suggests making someone or something tidy and smart like the tree. That's why 'spruced up' means 'made neat or more attractive'.