freshen

verb

ˈfre-shən How to pronounce freshen (audio)
Definition of freshennext
as in to restore
to bring back to a former condition or vigor cool glasses of lemonade freshened us after a day of hard work outside

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of freshen Target, which has had back-to-back strong quarters, is beginning to see results from efforts to cut prices and freshen its merchandise, with new CEO Michael Fiddelke earning plaudits from Wall Street so far. — Reuters, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2026 The largest tracts lie in southern Miami-Dade County, where low-lying coastal wetlands once connected Biscayne Bay to the Everglades and provided a steady flow of clean freshwater to freshen the bay. — Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026 The Tucson was substantially freshened for 2025 so 2026 is largely a carryover year. — Josh Max, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 The district leveled out the gopher holes to ensure a safer environment for students to play and resodded and reseeded the grass to freshen it up for the fall. — Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for freshen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freshen
  1. restore
  2. refresh
  3. revive
  4. renew
  5. renovate
Verb
  • Full service was being restored at the end of last week, but Zelenskyy said Monday that the restrictions are still slowing Ukraine's drones along the front.
    — SAMYA KULLAB, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Since then, Netanyahu has been criticized by opponents for failing to deliver on his promise of restoring regional security.
    — Chad de Guzman, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of restore
Verb
  • Google’s November 13, 2025 holiday shopping update began rolling out agentic checkout and emphasized the scale of its Shopping Graph, with more than 50 billion product listings and 2 billion refreshed every hour.
    — Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • What could be next Secondhand clothing and inexpensive accessories offer plenty of ways to refresh a wardrobe without starting over.
    — Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of refresh
Verb
  • Ethiopia and Eritrea revive old tensions and grievances Ethiopian authorities accuse the TPLF of seeking an alliance with Eritrea to destabilize Ethiopia, potentially bringing together enemies from the previous war.
    — KHALED KAZZIHA, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
  • As hopes to revive it fizzled, enthusiasm to turn the corridor into a long-distance trail climbed.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of revive
Verb
  • The diversification strategy was on display last week, when the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) renewed its 2018 collaboration agreement with India’s Adani Group, the conglomerate that operates several Indian seaports including Mundra Port.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The property sits on a long-term lease held by the federal government, last renewed for 20 years in 2021.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of renew
Verb
  • During the hearing, which ended without a decision, Reyes chastised the government attorneys, who had previously told the court that renovating the links was still in its conceptual stage.
    — Rachel Treisman, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The historical society has already started researching what the house would’ve looked like in the 1940s and talking with community leaders about raising money to renovate and maintain the home, Siesel said.
    — John Seewer, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of renovate

Browse Nearby Words

fresh
freshen
freshened
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Freshen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freshen. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All