sweetener

[sweet-n-er]

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noun

something that sweetens, as sugar or a low-calorie synthetic product used instead of sugar.

an added inducement: such sweeteners as tax breaks and low-cost loans.

Origin of sweetener

First recorded in 1640–50; sweeten + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sweetener

accolade, premium, bonus, compensation, award, honor, profit, benefit, bounty, dividend, punishment, remuneration, perk, money, fee, gift, reward, kickback, gratuity, blackmail

Examples from the Web for sweetener

Contemporary Examples of sweetener

Democrats view revenue as taxes, not airport fees, which Republicans have offered up as a sweetener.
Six Members of Supercommittee Break Away in Bid to Forge Debt Deal
Eleanor Clift
November 11, 2011

Historical Examples of sweetener

Grace is a sweetener and embellisher of life, and as such is worthy of cultivation.
Character
Samuel Smiles
Sweetener, a person who runs up the prices of articles at an auction.
The Slang Dictionary
John Camden Hotten
Be the sweetener of tart speeches; be the sunshine that drives away the clouds.
The Four Corners
Amy Ella Blanchard
We learned from you that it was the sweetener of every thought and every act of the day.
Father Brighthopes
John Townsend Trowbridge
And he put the Sweetener to his lips and whistled the Plough up to him.
The Field of Clover
Laurence Housman

British Dictionary definitions for sweetener

sweetener

noun

a sweetening agent, esp one that does not contain sugar

informal a bribe

informal a financial inducement

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