dress up

Friendly

Explanation of "Dress Up"

Definition:
"Dress up" is a verb phrase that means to wear special or formal clothes, often to make oneself look nice for a particular occasion. It can also mean to wear a costume for fun, such as during a holiday like Halloween. Additionally, "dress up" can imply making something look better or more attractive, even if it's not literally about clothing.

Usage Instructions:

• Use "dress up" when talking about putting on formal or special clothing.
• You can also use it when describing wearing costumes or enhancing the appearance of something.

Examples:

1. Wearing Formal Clothes:

   • "He dressed up in a suit and tie for the wedding."

2. Wearing Costumes:

   • "For Halloween, we dressed up as pumpkins."

3. Making Something Look Better:

   • "The researcher tried to dress up the uninteresting data to make it more appealing."

Advanced Usage:

• "Dress up" as a metaphor: It can be used to describe improving or enhancing something superficially. For example, "Don't try to dress up the unpleasant truth; be honest about the situation."

Word Variants:

• Dressing (verb): The act of putting on clothes.
• Dressed (past tense): Referring to someone who has already put on clothes.

Different Meanings:

• Casual Meaning: Simply wearing nice clothes for an event (e.g., "She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera.").
• Costume Meaning: Wearing a costume for fun (e.g., "The young girls were all fancied up for the party.").

Synonyms:

• Put on (formal clothes)
• Glam up
• Costume up
• Fancy up

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• "Glam up": This is a synonym that means to make oneself look glamorous or very attractive.
• "Fancy up": Similar to "dress up," it means to make something appear more appealing or stylish.

Summary:

"Dress up" is a versatile phrase that can refer to putting on special clothes for formal occasions, wearing costumes for fun, or making something look better.

Academic

Verb

1. dress in a certain manner
   • She dresses in the latest Paris fashion
   • he dressed up in a suit and tie
2. dress in a costume
   • We dressed up for Halloween as pumpkins
3. put a caparison on
   • caparison the horses for the festive occasion
4. make something appear superficially attractive
   • The researcher tried to dress up the uninteresting data
   • Don't try to dress up the unpleasant truth
5. put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive
   • She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera
   • The young girls were all fancied up for the party

Synonyms

• dress
• costume
• caparison
• bard
• barde
• window-dress
• overdress
• fig out
• fig up
• deck up
• gussy up
• fancy up
• trick up
• deck out
• trick out