tart up
verb
Simple meaning
To dress so as to be more sexually attractive.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tahrtuhpSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɑɹˈtʌp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
informalambitransitive
To dress so as to be more sexually attractive, especially with make-up and revealing clothing.
informaltransitive
To modify or repackage a product, service, or idea to make it more attractive or easier to sell.
informalintransitive
Dress up in a cheap and provocative way
informalintransitive
To dress garishly.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (informal, ambitransitive) To dress so as to be more sexually attractive, especially with make-up and revealing clothing.
Used this way, tart up is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.