- titivate
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
titivate
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Titivate — Tit i*vate, Tittivate Tit ti*vate, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. {Titivated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Titivating}.] [Formed from an uncertain source, in imitation of words in ate fr. L.] To dress or smarten up; to spruce. {Tit i*va tion}, {Tit ti*va tion}, n … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
titivate — ► VERB informal ▪ make smarter or more attractive. DERIVATIVES titivation noun. ORIGIN originally also spelt tidivate: perhaps from TIDY(Cf. ↑tidy) … English terms dictionary
titivate — [tit′ə vāt΄] vt., vi. titivated, titivating [earlier tidivate, tiddivate, prob. < TIDY, with quasi Latin suffix] to dress up; spruce up titivation n … English World dictionary
titivate — titillate, titivate Titillate means ‘to excite’ (Some interesting titles to titillate your literary tastebuds), and often has sexual overtones (especially in the noun derivative titillation), whereas titivate means ‘to adorn or smarten’ (Striking … Modern English usage
titivate — [ tɪtɪveɪt] verb informal make minor enhancements to. ↘(titivate oneself) make oneself look smart. Derivatives titivation noun Origin C19 (in early use, also as tidivate): perh. from tidy, on the pattern of cultivate. Usage The verbs … English new terms dictionary
titivate — UK [ˈtɪtɪveɪt] / US [ˈtɪtɪˌveɪt] verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms titivate : present tense I/you/we/they titivate he/she/it titivates present participle titivating past tense titivated past participle titivated British informal to make… … English dictionary
titivate oneself — make oneself look smart. → titivate … English new terms dictionary
titivate — or tittivate verb ( vated; vating) Etymology: perhaps from 1tidy + renovate Date: 1824 transitive verb to make smart or spruce intransitive verb smarten, spruce • titivation noun … New Collegiate Dictionary
titivate — titivate1 titivation, n. titivator, n. /tit euh vayt /, v., titivated, titivating. v.t. 1. to make smart or spruce: She titivated her old dress with a new belt. v.i. 2. to make oneself smart or spruce. Also, tittivate. [1795 1805; earlier… … Universalium
titivate — verb /ˈtɪt.ɪ.veɪt,ˈtɪt.ə.veɪt/ To make small improvements or alterations to (ones appearance etc.); to add some finishing touches to … Wiktionary
