sweeten

verb

sweet·​en ˈswē-tᵊn 

sweetened; sweetening ˈswē-tᵊn-iŋ 

ˈswēt-niŋ

transitive verb

1

: to make sweet

2

: to soften the mood or attitude of

3

: to make less painful or trying

4

: to free from a harmful or undesirable quality or substance

especially : to remove sulfur compounds from

sweeten natural gas

5

: to make more valuable or attractive

sweeten the deal

: such as

a

: to increase (a pot not won on the previous deal) by anteing prior to another deal

b

: to place additional securities as collateral for (a loan)

intransitive verb

: to become sweet

sweetener

ˈswēt-nər

ˈswē-tᵊn-ər 

noun

Synonyms

• candy
• dress up
• enhance

Examples of sweeten in a Sentence

He sweetened his cereal a little.

He sweetened the deal with a large signing bonus.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hudson played a hulking Lowrey organ, the FL (or Festival) model; it was purchased by the Band in 1961, to help sweeten the deal after Hudson refused their first several offers to join. —Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2025

To sweeten the deal, a portion of bookings is donated to The Trevor Project. —Jared Ranahan, Travel + Leisure, 22 Jan. 2025

In September, Young Poong and MBK announced a tender offer for Korea Zinc shares, sweetening its bid twice in the process. —Daisuke Wakabayashi, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025

And the team has several future assets at its disposal to sweeten a return. —Shayna Goldman, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing sweeten

• pre-sweeten
• sugar/sweeten the pill
• sweeten up

Kids Definition

sweeten

verb

sweet·​en ˈswēt-ᵊn 

sweetened; sweetening ˈswēt-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to make or become sweet

sweetener

ˈswēt-nər 

-ᵊn-ər

noun