to perk up
16
3.1
- phrasal verb
- /pɜrk ʌp/
- Informal
:
animar(se)
- It really helps to perk up my spirits and make me feel warm and cozy inside.
- ears perk up
So when Noah said I love my job, my ears perked up.
- So when Noah said I love my job, my ears perked up.
- It really helps to perk up my spirits and make me feel warm and cozy inside.
- He's like awesome, but in that moment he felt needed again, so he fucking perked up.
- And when I discover one, it's as if it it's as if it perks up.
- I am I people would talk about what movie they'd gone to see or the Oscars that were coming up and I was, you know, I would perk up then and.
Examples
-
A flush of life returned to Catherine's pallid cheeks, and she visibly perked up.
Fiction book (1995) -
Come on, ladies, perk up.
-
I hope you perk up for our honeymoon.
-
Suddenly he perked up as they walked, and he began to whistle an old, old song.
Fiction book (1991) -
Nurse Sherie has a reputation of perking up her patients.
-
After a long day at work, a good cup of coffee helps me perk up and feel energized.
-
The kids were feeling tired after the trip, but the excitement of the park visit made them perk up again.
-
Listening to my favorite music can really perk up my mood when I'm feeling down.
Synonyms
392
1.0
To make someone feel happier
236
3.7
Make a person or thing more active, alert and responsive
165
3.0
To get better or stronger
70
4.1
Make people feel excited and ready to act
69
4.1
To become or make someone feel more cheerful and relaxed
66
3.9
To make or become more active and interesting
65
3.7
To make someone feel more active and alert
56
3.7
Become lively and full of activity or interest
33
3.7
Become more lively or cheerful after being tired
28
4.1
Make someone feel excited and full of energy
26
5.5
To give more energy and make someone or something feel lively
23
3.2
To make someone feel happier and more hopeful
19
5.7
To give new energy and interest to a person or thing
17
2.7
Make a room or person more cheerful
14
6.3
To become or make someone more cheerful and confident
9
3.5
Make someone wake up or feel more energetic
8
3.9
To make someone feel happier
6
4.1
Make something more active and interesting
4
4.9
To make someone or something more lively
4
4.8
To make people feel excited and ready to act
3
4.1
To give new energy and enthusiasm to a person or thing
3
4.1
Make someone or something more lively and interesting
3
7.0
Make someone feel happier and full of energy
3
5.6
To make someone feel very excited about something
1
3.4
Help someone feel happier
To make someone feel more cheerful and confident
To make someone feel happier or more lively
Get more lively and active
To try to make someone feel happier when they are sad
How Energetic
71
4.1
- Informal
66
3.9
- Informal
16
3.1
- Informal
234
1.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'perk' (become livelier) combined with the particle 'up' (indicating increase/improvement) yields ‘become more lively/cheerful’. This verb + particle pattern is a standard, predictable English construction, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Perk up comes from the image of a dog or person suddenly lifting their ears or head; to perk is to lift or become more alert and up shows the movement. That small change shows more energy and interest, so 'perk up' means 'to become more lively or cheerful'.