Definition of Straighten

1. Verb. Straighten up or out; make straight.

Exact synonyms: Unbend
Generic synonyms: Change Posture
Antonyms: Bend

2. Verb. Make straight.
Exact synonyms: Straighten Out
Generic synonyms: Alter, Change, Modify
Specialized synonyms: Untwist, Unbend, Extend, Channelise, Channelize, Untwine, Unweave, Comb
Derivative terms: Straightener

3. Verb. Get up from a sitting or slouching position. "The students straightened when the teacher entered"
Specialized synonyms: Rear, Rise Up, Draw Up, Pull Up, Straighten Up
Generic synonyms: Change Posture

4. Verb. Put (things or places) in order. "Tidy up your room!"
Exact synonyms: Clean Up, Neaten, Square Away, Straighten Out, Tidy, Tidy Up
Specialized synonyms: Make, Make Up, Clean, Clean House, Houseclean
Generic synonyms: Order

5. Verb. Straighten by unrolling. "Roll out the big map"
Exact synonyms: Roll Out
Generic synonyms: Disentangle, Unwind

6. Verb. Make straight or straighter. "They straighten their hair "; "Straighten hair"
Generic synonyms: Arrange, Set Up
Also: Straighten Out, Straighten Out

Definition of Straighten

1. v. t. To make straight; to reduce from a crooked to a straight form.

2. v. t. A variant of Straiten.

Definition of Straighten

1. Verb. (transitive) To cause to become straight. ¹

2. Verb. (intransitive) To become straight. ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) To put in order; to sort; to tidy up. ¹

4. Verb. (transitive) To clarify a situation or concept to (an audience). ¹

5. Verb. (transitive slang) To bribe or corrupt. ¹

6. Verb. (intransitive) To stand up, especially from a sitting position. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Straighten

1. [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Straighten

straight red card
straight shooter
straight sinus
straight talk
straight talker
straight ticket
straight up
straightarrow(a)
straightaway
straightaways
straightbred
straightbreds
straighted
straightedge
straightedges
straighten (current term)
straighten out
straighten up
straightenable
straightened
straightener
straighteners
straightening
straightens
straighter
straightest
straightfaced
straightfacedly
straightfaces

Literary usage of Straighten

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Gymnastics: A Text-book of the German-American System of Gymnastics by William Albin Stecher (1896)
"1 straighten the right arm forward, 10 straighten the right arm upward. Begin! ... 13 straighten the left arm upward. 4 straighten the left arm forward. ..."

2. The Poetical Works of John Dryden by John Dryden (1909)
"... The crooked scythes are straighten'd into woods; 650 And, rolling onward, with a sweepy sway, Bore houses, herds, and lab'ring hinds away. ..."

3. The Popular Science Monthly by Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress) (1885)
"When the mouth is opened their elasticity causes them to straighten out like a bow that is unbent, so that, at whatever distance the jaws are separated, ..."

4. The Diseases of Children: A Work for the Practising Physician by Meinhard von Pfaundler, Arthur Schlossmann (1912)
"Finally, the employment of braces to straighten the body must be discussed. We recommend making as little use of them as possible, because all braces as ..."

5. Journal by General Assembly, Pennsylvania General Assembly. Senate, Pennsylvania (1905)
""An act regulating the proceedings to widen, straighten, alter or change aud vacate public roads and parts thereof in this Commonwealth, the number of ..."

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