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Straighten
//ˈstɹeɪtn̩// verb, slang
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To cause to become straight. transitive
"[S]o / Do these upbear the little world below / Of Education,—Patience, Love, and Hope. / Methinks, I see them group'd in seemly show, / The straiten'd arms upraised, the palms aslope, / And robes that touching as adown they flow, / Distinctly blend, like snow emboss'd in snow."
- 2 put (things or places) in order wordnet
- 3 To become straight. intransitive
- 4 make straight or straighter wordnet
- 5 To put in order; to sort; to tidy up. transitive
"to straighten one's affairs, or an account"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 make straight wordnet
- 7 To clarify a situation or concept to (an audience). transitive
- 8 straighten by unrolling wordnet
- 9 To bribe or corrupt. slang, transitive
- 10 get up from a sitting or slouching position wordnet
- 11 To stand up, especially from a sitting position. intransitive
- 12 straighten up or out; make straight wordnet
- 13 To make heterosexual. informal, transitive
"It has been said that to survive in this Wasp society, Blacks must straighten their hair, Jews must straighten their noses, and Gays must straighten themselves. But we will no longer tolerate being straightened. It is the doctors and the straight society who must change."
Etymology
From straight + -en. Compare Scots strauchten (“to straighten”).
See also for "straighten"
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