Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
bruise up en · VERB
Pronunciation
Meanings
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(transitive) To cause bruises to appear, usually by beating or battering.
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(intransitive) To show or get bruises.
Instead, we must find an unworthy substitute for the defeat of a foe in that small grin we quickly suppress when we learn that a beheadphoned texter got hit by a car—no, not seriously injured, just bruised up enough to give him a wake-up call.
2021, William Ian Miller, “The Law of Conservation of Good Things”, in Outrageous Fortune: Gloomy Reflections on Luck and Life, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 34:
Forms