SHAPES UP Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

shapes (up) 1 of 2

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of shape (up)

as in forms

to take on a definite form this group of summer interns is shaping up to be one of the best we've ever hired

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shapes up

2 of 2

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of shape up

as in improves

to change one's behavior or character for the better told his son that if he didn't shape up, he'd be grounded for a month

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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 shapes (up)

Verb

Dramatic — and sometimes controversial — endings were the story of a wild college football Saturday, with late-game calls deciding some outcomes and potentially having an effect on how the College Football Playoff shapes up a couple months from now. — Tim Reynolds, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026 Either way, 2027 shapes up as a pivotal year for the company. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 6 Sep. 2026 Below are Maxwell’s projections and a brief look at how Class A shapes up in 2026. — Todd Holcomb, AJC.com, 10 Aug. 2026 The exact way that Chelsea’s defence shapes up around Lacroix will be intriguing. — Mark Carey, New York Times, 25 July 2026 As the two bond in short order, our previously flailing hero shapes up very quickly indeed, soon shedding his substance abuse problems and entering a healthy relationship with dreamy social worker Oscar (Diego Calva). — Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 May 2026 Get your popcorn, kick up your feet and get ready for what shapes up to be an epic showdown in the Final Four nightcap on Saturday night. — ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026 The 75th Florida Derby — a top race that has produced 26 Kentucky Derby winners — shapes up as this year’s biggest prep heading into the May 2 Run for the Roses. — Clark Spencer, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2026 Sunday shapes up to be more than a two-man race. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shapes (up)

Verb

Intimate drama set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, where a young Ukrainian deserter finds refuge with an elderly woman and forms an unlikely bond.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Fans of the austere contemporary design that forms the back-bone of the Design Hotel concept will love this new fifty room hipster tucked away in a non-descript side street near Frankfurt’s main train station.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of forms

Verb

The proposal adds a new law in the state Constitution and amends Oklahoma's rules on voter identification, requiring voters to show proof of their identity.

— Isa Almeida, Oklahoman, 26 Aug. 2026
The Santini-Burton Modernization Act amends a 1980 law that allows the Forest Service to purchase environmentally sensitive land in the Tahoe Basin.

— Haley Parsley August 17, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of amends

Verb

There’s that churro bread pudding, the one with a junkyard origin story that breaks down the churros and then reforms them into a dense and perfect block as powerful as an Avengers movie prop.

— Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Apr. 2026
Kentucky's General Assembly has passed House Bill 2, which reforms the state's Medicaid program.

— Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Apr. 2026

Definition of reforms

Verb

This difference influences how nuclear fuel behaves and how a reactor sustains fission.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Microdroplet chemistry Min’s lab has spent years working on microdroplet chemistry, studying how water broken into tiny droplets behaves at its boundary with air.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of behaves

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shapes

shapes (up)

shapes up

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“Shapes (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shapes%20%28up%29. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of shapes (up)

verb (1)

verb (2)

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