Definition

1. Verb (transitive & intransitive):
   • To wear formal, elegant, or special clothing, often for a specific occasion or to create a particular impression.
   • To put on a costume or disguise oneself.
   • To make something appear more attractive, interesting, or acceptable than it really is, often in a deceptive way.

Usage and Examples

• To wear formal or fancy clothes:

  • We need to dress up for the gala dinner; jeans are not allowed.
  • He dresses up in a suit and tie every day for work.

• To wear a costume:

  • The children love to dress up as superheroes.
  • She dressed up as a pirate for the costume party.

• To embellish or make something superficially attractive:

  • The report uses complicated jargon to dress up some very basic ideas.
  • You can't dress up the facts; the situation is serious.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "dress up" vs. "dress": "Dress up" implies a level of formality, special effort, or transformation beyond ordinary "dressing."
• "dressed up" (adjective phrase): Describes the state of being in formal or costume attire.
  • You look very dressed up. Where are you going?
• The phrasal verb can be separated by a noun object.
  • She dressed the children up in their Halloween costumes.

Variants and Related Words

• Dress-up (noun): The act or an instance of dressing in costumes or fancy clothes.
  • The kids are having a dress-up party.
• Dressy (adjective): Characterized by or requiring fancy or formal dress.
  • The restaurant has a dressy atmosphere.

Synonyms

• Formalize (in the context of making attire formal).
• Disguise, costume (in the context of wearing a disguise).
• Embellish, gild, gloss over, pretty up (in the context of making something deceptively attractive).

Phrasal Verbs and Related Constructions

• Dress down: The opposite; to wear casual clothes.
  • Our office allows us to dress down on Fridays.
• Get dressed up: An alternative phrasing with the same meaning.
  • They got all dressed up for the wedding.

Idioms and Common Phrases

• Dress up to the nines: To dress in an extremely elegant or fashionable manner.
  • They were dressed up to the nines for the premiere.
• Dress something up as something else: To present something deceptively as being different or better.
  • The policy is just a tax increase dressed up as economic reform.

Verb

1. dress in a certain manner
   • She dresses in the latest Paris fashion
   • he dressed up in a suit and tie
2. dress in a costume
   • We dressed up for Halloween as pumpkins
3. put a caparison on
   • caparison the horses for the festive occasion
4. make something appear superficially attractive
   • The researcher tried to dress up the uninteresting data
   • Don't try to dress up the unpleasant truth
5. put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive
   • She never dresses up, even when she goes to the opera
   • The young girls were all fancied up for the party