Synonyms for spruce
- adjective
- verb
- noun
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Dapper — smart, trim, and elegant in appearance; fastidious (said of a person)
dapper, trim, natty, jaunty, neat, spiffy informal, dashing, trig, snappy, rakish, raffish, stylish, smart dated, smug dated
Other
Verb
2. Spiff up
smarten up, spiff up slang, slick up dated US
Other
Noun
Definitions
- adj. 1
Smart, trim, and elegant in appearance; fastidious (said of a person).
- v. 1
To arrange neatly; tidy up.
- v. 2
To make oneself spruce (neat and elegant in appearance).
- n. 1
Any of various large coniferous evergreen trees or shrubs from the genus Picea, found in northern temperate and boreal regions; originally and more fully spruce fir.
Related words
Choose the right word
Spruce is applied to the show and affectation of neatness with a touch of smartness, and is always a term of mild contempt; as, a spruce serving man.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- trim Some people stay trim even without going to a gym.
- snappy She is very snappy, so don't get too close to her.
- raffish He was a good-looking but somewhat raffish young gentleman.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| spruce | falling | |
| trim | steady | |
| snappy | rising | |
| raffish | steady | |
| pulchritudinous | steady | |
| jimp | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- neat1, trim1, tidy2, smug1, trig1, jimp
- 5 letters
- smart1, natty2
- 6 letters
- snappy2, dapper2, jaunty2, spiffy2, spliff, rakish2, neaten, zhoosh
- 7 letters
- stylish2, dashing2, raffish2
- 8 letters
- prettify, titivate
- 15 letters
- pulchritudinous
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (tidy2 = 2 syllables).