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

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

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

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