What does smarten mean?
Smarten is a verb with two established uses. Primarily, it means to make someone or something more intelligent, alert, or effective: a course may smarten up a student’s understanding, while editing can smarten a piece of writing. It can also be intransitive, describing a person becoming more alert or better prepared. A second, familiar use refers to appearance: to smarten up means to dress more attractively, tidy an area, or improve the presentation of a person or place. The phrase “smarten up” therefore combines the idea of becoming more capable with the older sense of making oneself look better. In modern English, smarten is often informal and is less common than smart, but it is useful when an action or process is explicitly intended to produce improvement.
To make someone or something more intelligent, alert, or effective; to become more intellectually capable.
"The discussion smartened the students’ understanding of the issue."
This sense is commonly used in relatively informal contexts and often appears with the particle up.
To make a person, place, or thing look neater or more attractive; to become more attractive or better presented.
"They smartened the old hall with new lights and fresh paint."
This older sense is especially familiar in the expression “smarten up” and can imply tidying, dressing up, or improving presentation.
Smarten has two surprisingly different strengths: it can sharpen the mind and sharpen the appearance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of smarten
Smarten derives from the adjective smart, which originally referred to keen or acute perception and later came to mean intellectually capable or showing sound judgment. The verb was formed with the suffix -en, a productive English pattern meaning “to make” or “to become.” Its older use for improving one’s appearance developed alongside the familiar expression “smarten up,” while its intellectual sense follows the established meaning of smart as clever or well informed.
Related word forms
How smarten is actually used
In the intellectual sense, smarten is less common than the adjective smart and is often used in relatively informal contexts. The expression “smarten up” can mean either to improve one’s appearance or to become more alert, efficient, or better informed, depending on context.
Easily confused with smarten
Smart is primarily an adjective meaning intelligent or showing good judgment, whereas smarten is a verb describing the act of making someone or something more intelligent or attractive.