sweetened; sweetening
ˈswē-tᵊn-iŋ 
ˈswēt-niŋ
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)
: to become sweet
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
The ingredients list being as short as organic cacao, organic cane sugar and organic cacao butter, makes for the majority of the bars to be vegan-friendly and others keto-friendly with only being sweetened by monk fruit, a zero calorie sweetener.
—
Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Feeling some heat from next door, New York sweetened its incentive package in its latest budget earlier this year.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
The cocktail comes to us, like so many greats, from Hugo Ensslin’s 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks and the recipe most of us use is more or less the same as his—a healthy pour of Irish whiskey, with lime juice and some grenadine (pomegranate syrup) to sweeten.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2025
Try mixing in a spoonful of yogurt to sweeten your oatmeal while upping the protein content.
—Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweeten
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Feeling some heat from next door, New York sweetened its incentive package in its latest budget earlier this year.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
The cocktail comes to us, like so many greats, from Hugo Ensslin’s 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks and the recipe most of us use is more or less the same as his—a healthy pour of Irish whiskey, with lime juice and some grenadine (pomegranate syrup) to sweeten.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2025
Try mixing in a spoonful of yogurt to sweeten your oatmeal while upping the protein content.
—Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweeten
Cite this Entry
“Sweeten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweeten. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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