straighten
/ˈstreɪt(ə)n
/verb
1Make or become straight: [with object]: she helped him straighten his tie [no object]: here the road straightens and its verges widen...
- He straightened his tie, adjusted the suit coat fractionally, and marched back toward the elevators.
- The mine company straightened the river, which used to run right through the park.
- After the road straightens, look for a spacious car park on the left.
Synonyms
make straight, align;
adjust, arrange, rearrange, tidy, make tidy, neaten, spruce up;
uncoil, unkink, uncurl
1.1 [no object] Stand or sit erect after bending: he slowly straightened up, using the table for support...
- He straightens and stands oddly for a moment, staring blankly at the man crossing the underground parking lot twenty paces away.
- I straightened, stretched and yawned, glancing idly about me, a man awakening from a romantic reverie.
- Nathaniel stopped right in front of Emily, bent down, and kissed her hand lightly before straightening.
Synonyms
stand up, stand up straight, stand upright, straighten one's back
1.2 [no object] (straighten up) (Of a vehicle, ship, or aircraft) stop turning and move in a straight line: it may be wise to straighten up and fly down wind a little...
- Aircraft were warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
- As soon as he straightened up, he cranked the throttle right back and wheelied away up Shortwood!
- If I attempt to straighten up, I'm going find myself running out of a flat surface to do it on.
2 [with object] Make tidy or put in order again: he sat down at his desk, straightening his things that Lee had moved they are asking for help in straightening out their lives...
- He has to travel to Bangalore at least once, in order to straighten things out and get his money.
- I waited until he had gone around the corner before I sat down in his chair and proceeded to organize his desk a little, straightening out a pile of papers here, wiping away a crumb there.
- He had joined the company as a high-tech troubleshooter, an expert in straightening out these sorts of kinks.
Synonyms
put/set right, sort out, iron out, clear up, settle, resolve, find a solution to, put in order, tidy up, regulate, regularize, rectify, repair, remedy;
disentangle, unravel, unsnarl, untangle
informal patch up
Derivatives
straightener
- Beauty isn't about pageants and hair straighteners.
- Great managers are enlargers and enhancers, not punishers and straighteners.
- The schoolmistress, known only as Miss Roberts, maintained discipline with a number of techniques no longer taught at teacher training college, including a cane and a wooden back straightener.