sweeten up

IPA/swˈiːtən ˈʌp/
IPA/swˈiːʔn̩ ˈʌp/

sweeten up — phrasal verb

  • sweeten upbase form
  • sweetens up3rd person singular
  • sweetening up-ing form
  • sweetened uppast simple

1. to treat someone with deliberate extra kindness or friendliness so that they wil

1.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

to treat someone with deliberate extra kindness or friendliness so that they will do what you want them to do, such as give you something or agree to a request.

例句

Lakshmi tried to sweeten up her landlord before asking for a rent reduction.

sweeten up + person before asking for something

William brought coffee and donuts to sweeten up the office manager.

同義詞
  • butter up

    more informal and implies obvious flattery rather than general kindness

  • curry favor with

    slightly more formal; focuses on gaining approval rather than a specific reward

  • get on the good side of

    emphasises building a generally positive relationship rather than a one-time act

反義詞
  • offend

    doing the opposite — making someone dislike you

文法句型

sweeten + person + up

sweeten up + person (noun only)

用法筆記

Object is always the person being influenced. With a pronoun object, the word order must be 'sweeten + pronoun + up' (e.g. 'sweeten him up'), never 'sweeten up him'. With a noun object, both orders are possible: 'sweeten the boss up' or 'sweeten up the boss'.

常見錯誤

❌She sweetened up to impress the clients.
✅She sweetened up the clients to impress them.
💡The verb requires an object: you must specify who you are being nice to.
❌He sweetened up her with flowers.
✅He sweetened her up with flowers.
💡Pronoun objects must go between 'sweeten' and 'up', not after 'up'.