verb · neutral
sweeten
/ˈswiːtən/SWEET·en
to make something taste sweeter or to make an offer/matter more attractive
Examples
“They offered a bonus to sweeten the contract and encourage acceptance.”
“You can sweeten the tea with a little honey.”
“The government tried to sweeten the reform package with tax breaks.”
Band 8 sentence
“To secure the partnership, the firm sweetened its proposal with performance bonuses and flexible terms.”
Collocations
- sweeten the deal
- sweeten with honey/sugar
Word family
Common mistakes
They sweetened to the contract with an extra clause.→They sweetened the contract with an extra clause.
We need more sweetener to make it exciting.→We need more incentives to make it attractive.
Say it for a higher band
5make nicer→6improve→7+sweeten
Synonyms
make more attractive
Easily confused
incentivize
“The company offered vouchers to incentivize customers to try the new product.”
Related words
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In -en
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