sprucing

present participle of spruce

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprucing
Verb
  • Mills has been previously accused of embellishing his military record.
    Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Even his close friends accuse Bret of embellishing the truth for creative purposes, not incidentally an accusation both Ellis and Murphy have often faced.
    Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • However, student well-being initially declined before improving in later years, while average test scores, attendance, classroom attention and reported online bullying changed little.
    Kavin Bendre, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Despite rising costs, borrowers are showing more discipline by paying down debt and improving credit scores.
    Sharon Wu, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Football is all about engaño (trickery) — looking one way and passing the other, feinting to go left and swiftly moving right, manipulating the opposition and tricking them to open up those little spaces.
    Xavi, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • What’s far more eloquent is the episode with the witch Circe (a terrific Samantha Morton), whose habit of tricking and transforming men into animals is rendered in evocatively physical, body-horror-esque imagery.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 July 2026
Verb
  • Skau warned that as attention turns towards ameliorating the security crisis, resources should not be taken away from addressing the surging humanitarian needs, which include more than 5 million people who do not have enough to eat.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
  • Taking control of the narrative is the first step to ameliorating the damage.
    David Rivera, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Sprucing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sprucing. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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