titivate

1

or tit·ti·vate

[ tit-uh-veyt ]
See synonyms for titivate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),tit·i·vat·ed, tit·i·vat·ing.
  1. to make smart or spruce: She titivated her old dress with a new belt.

verb (used without object),tit·i·vat·ed, tit·i·vat·ing.
  1. to make oneself smart or spruce.

Origin of titivate

1
1795–1805; earlier tidivate (tidy + (ele)vate; i.e., tidy up)

Other words from titivate

  • tit·i·va·tion, noun
  • tit·i·va·tor, noun

Words Nearby titivate

Other definitions for titivate (2 of 2)

titivate2
[ tit-uh-veyt ]

verb (used with object),tit·i·vat·ed, tit·i·vat·ing.

Origin of titivate

2
First recorded in 1910–15; by erroneous association

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use titivate in a sentence

  • They said that when he saw the shearers coming he'd say, "Run and titivate yourself, Mary; here comes the shearers!"

    Children of the Bush | Henry Lawson
  • Let me go down and settle whilst you call in your black man and titivate a bit.

    The Virginians | William Makepeace Thackeray
  • I'll give them half an hour's study whilst you wash up the tea things and titivate.

    Mrs. Warren's Daughter | Sir Harry Johnston
  • You titivate yourself, and we'll dine at the Savoy, or anywhere you please.

    Tales of the Five Towns | Arnold Bennett
  • Gravely and calmly he draws brushes and so on from a receptacle under the box-seat, and commences to titivate himself.

    Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2) | William Delisle Hay

British Dictionary definitions for titivate

titivate

tittivate

/ (ˈtɪtɪˌveɪt) /


verb
  1. to smarten up (oneself or another), as by making up, doing the hair, etc

  2. (tr) to smarten up (a thing): to titivate a restaurant

Origin of titivate

1
C19: earlier tidivate, perhaps based on tidy and cultivate

Derived forms of titivate

  • titivation or tittivation, noun
  • titivator or tittivator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012