sweeten

[sweet-n]

verb (used with object)

1. to make sweet, as by adding sugar.

2. to make mild or kind; soften.

3. to lessen the acridity or pungency of (a food) by prolonged cooking.

4. to reduce the saltiness of (a food or dish) by diluting with water, milk, or other liquid.

5. to make (the breath, room air, etc.) sweet or fresh, as with a mouthwash, spray, etc.

6. (in musical recording) to add musical instruments to (an arrangement), especially strings for a lusher sound.

7. Chemistry.

   1. to make (the stomach, soil, etc.) less acidic, as by means of certain preparations, chemicals, etc.

   2. to remove sulfur and its compounds from (oil or gas).

8. Informal.

   1. to enhance the value of (loan collateral) by including additional or especially valuable securities.

   2. to add to the value or attractiveness of (any proposition, holding, etc.).

9. to add more liquor to (an alcoholic drink).

10. Poker.,  to add stakes to (a pot) before opening.

verb (used without object)

1. to become sweet or sweeter.

sweeten

/ ˈswiːtən /

verb

1. (also intr) to make or become sweet or sweeter

2. to mollify or soften (a person)

3. to make more agreeable

4. (also intr) chem to free or be freed from unpleasant odours, acidic or corrosive substances, or the like

5. finance to raise the value of (loan collateral) by adding more securities

6. informal,  poker to enlarge (the pot) by adding chips

Other Word Forms

• nonsweetened adjective
• outsweeten verb (used with object)
• oversweeten verb (used with object)
• presweeten verb (used with object)
• resweeten verb
• unsweetened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sweeten¹

First recorded in 1545–55; sweet + -en ¹

Example Sentences

And that’s how it greets us now, crisp light over washed stone streets, air sweetened by sea spray.

Read more on Salon

The reality is that extending the sweetened subsidies will encourage more states and cities to follow the lead of Chicago, shifting the healthcare costs of their young retirees to national taxpayers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The onions will slacken and sweeten over indirect heat while he assembles the rest.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“They’re sweetening the pot,” Paul Hardart, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said of the Ellison family.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

My younger neighbors, knowing this, grocery-shopped for me, sweetening my mornings with fresh milk and fruit during those long, grim days.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mull