titivate

¹

Or tit·ti·vate

[tit-uh-veyt]

verb (used with object)

titivated, titivating 

1. to make smart or spruce.

   She titivated her old dress with a new belt.

verb (used without object)

titivated, titivating 

1. to make oneself smart or spruce.

titivate

²

[tit-uh-veyt]

verb (used with object)

titivated, titivating 

1. titillate.

titivate

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• titivation noun
• titivator noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of titivate¹

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

Origin of titivate²

First recorded in 1910–15; by erroneous association

Word History and Origins

Origin of titivate¹

C19: earlier tidivate, perhaps based on _tidy and _cultivate

Example Sentences

"The sort of things that, dare I say, have been titivated up and had quite a bit of value added to them."

Read more on BBC

There is something anxious, and very intriguing, in the degree of experimentation in this memoir, in its elaborately titivated sentences, its thicket of citations.

Read more on New York Times

Sharp, salty and/or crunchy are the aims here, to titivate and offset the creamy avo.

Read more on The Guardian

“The majority were content to titivate or embellish their past.”

Read more on New York Times

Meanwhile, their lustrous hair and glowing complexions suggest long spa weekends spent having their T-zones titivated by Aphrodite herself.

Read more on The Guardian

Related Words

• arouse 
• bring about 
• cause 
• elicit 
• galvanize 
• generate 
• incite 
• induce 
• inflame 
• inspire 
• instigate 
• kindle 
• lead to www.thesaurus.com
• motivate 
• precipitate 
• prompt 
• stir