Synonyms

cheer up

Idioms

Become or make happy, raise the spirits of, as in This fine weather should cheer you up. This term may also be used as an imperative, as Shakespeare did (2 Henry IV, 4:4): “My sovereign lord, cheer up yourself.” [Late 1500s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And, hoping to cheer up her son, she produces William from the pantry.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

And as an artist, she’s glad that, even as a 16-year-old just beginning her career, she never gave in to the pressure to cheer up her tracks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

“Maybe the current global situation, be it geopolitical or macroeconomic, does not lead people to cheer up and to open bottles of Champagne.”

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025

Voters started to cheer up about the economy.

From Slate • Sep. 6, 2024

The crew compared notes on what had happened in Salt Lake City, but even Leo’s ridiculous story about how he tricked Narcissus wasn’t enough to cheer up the group.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023