Definition

Verb (phrasal verb): 1. To become happier or more cheerful: To stop feeling sad or downhearted and start feeling more positive and lively. 2. To make someone feel happier or more cheerful: To help someone who is sad or discouraged feel better, more hopeful, or more enthusiastic.

Usage

• Intransitive use (no direct object): When the subject is the person who becomes happier.
  • Structure: Subject + cheer up.
  • Example: "He was gloomy this morning, but he cheered up after hearing the good news."
• Transitive use (with a direct object): When the subject makes another person (the object) feel better.
  • Structure: Subject + cheer up + object.
  • Example: "I brought her flowers to cheer her up."

Examples

• Intransitive:
  • Cheer up! Things will get better soon.
  • The weather was depressing, but everyone cheered up when the sun came out.
• Transitive:
  • We told funny stories to cheer up our friend who was feeling sick.
  • A phone call from her grandson always cheers her up.

Advanced Usage

• Imperative Mood for Encouragement: Often used as a direct command ("Cheer up!") to encourage someone to feel better. This is a very common and friendly usage.
  • Example: "Cheer up, it's not the end of the world!"
• Separable Phrasal Verb: When used with a pronoun object (me, you, him, her, it, us, them), the pronoun must go between the verb and the particle.
  • Correct: "That song really cheered me up."
  • Less Common: "That song really cheered up me."

Variants and Related Words

• Cheer (verb): To shout encouragement or praise; to give comfort or hope to.
  • Example: "The crowd cheered for the team."
• Cheerful (adjective): Noticeably happy and optimistic.
  • Example: "She has a cheerful disposition."
• Cheering (adjective / noun): Giving comfort or joy; shouts of encouragement.
  • Example: "The cheering crowd lifted the team's spirits."

Synonyms

• Brighten (up): To become or make more cheerful or lively.
  • Example: "Her smile brightened up the room."
• Perk up: To become more cheerful, lively, or energetic.
  • Example: "He perked up after a cup of coffee."
• Buck up (informal): To become more cheerful or to make someone more cheerful.
  • Example: "Buck up! You can try again tomorrow."
• Encourage: To give support, confidence, or hope to someone.
  • Example: "His coach encouraged him after the loss."

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Lighten up (informal): To become more relaxed and less serious.
  • Example: "Lighten up! It was just a joke."
• Liven up: To become or make more lively and exciting.
  • Example: "The party livened up when the music started."

Related Idioms

• A sight for sore eyes: Someone or something that is very pleasant or welcome to see, often cheering someone up.
  • Example: "After a long journey, my bed was a sight for sore eyes."
• Look on the bright side: To find positive aspects in a bad situation.
  • Example: "I know you're disappointed, but look on the bright side—you learned a lot from the experience."

Verb

1. become cheerful
2. cause (somebody) to feel happier or more cheerful
   • She tried to cheer up the disappointed child when he failed to win the spelling bee