Dictionary

straighten en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈstɹeɪtn̩/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From straight + -en. Compare Scots strauchten (“to straighten”).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To cause to become straight.
   • [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. 1830, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “[Sibylline Leaves.] Love, Hope, and Patience in Education.”, in The Poetical and Dramatic Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge […], volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1880, →OCLC, page 334:
2. (intransitive) To become straight.
3. (transitive) To put in order; to sort; to tidy up.
   • to straighten one's affairs
   • Tuilagi and Ashton started in lively fashion, centre Tuilagi doing what he does best, straightening and bursting into the line, and Ashton always looking to leave his wing and get involved in the action. 2011 September 24, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 67-3 Romania”, in BBC Sport:
   • straighten one's account
4. (transitive) To clarify a situation or concept to (an audience).
5. (slang, transitive) To bribe or corrupt.
6. (intransitive) To stand up, especially from a sitting position.
7. (informal, transitive) To make heterosexual.
   • It raises the prospect that pregnant women could one day be offered a treatment to reduce or eliminate the chance that their offspring will be homosexual. Experts say that, in theory, the "straightening" procedure on humans could be as simple as a hormone supplement for mothers-to-be, worn on the skin like an anti-smoking nicotine patch. 2006 December 31, Isabel Oakeshott, Chris Gourlay, “Science Told: Hands Off Gay Sheep”, in The Sunday Times:
   • 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. 1973 December 22, Satya, “It Is Not We Who Must Change”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 27, page 3:

Forms

Deriveds

enstraighten · straighten up · straightener · straighten one's face · unstraighten · restraighten · prestraighten · straightenable · straighten out

Relateds

straiten

Translations (68)

eo rektiĝi (to become straight) · bg изправям се (to stand up) · fr redresser (to make straight) · es desencorvar (to make straight) · izh oikoa (to make straight) · mi whakatika (to make straight) · bg изправям се (to become straight) · fi oieta (to become straight) · ta நிமிர் (to become straight) · hu rendez (to put in order; to sort; to tidy up) · ru выпрямля́ть (to make straight) · hu helyrehoz (to put in order; to sort; to tidy up) · es arrectar (to make straight) · nl rechttrekken (to make straight) · fur dreçâ (to make straight) · mi whakatika (to become straight) · hu kiegyenesít (to make straight) · hu kiegyenesedik (to become straight) · ta நிமிர்த்து (to make straight) · fi oikaista (to make straight) · rup ndriptedz (to make straight) · ru выпрямля́ться (to become straight) · nl opspringen (to stand up) · pl prostować (to make straight) · hu megigazít (to put in order; to sort; to tidy up) · mi whātika (to make straight) · ro îndrepta (to make straight) · mi whātika (to stand up) · grc ὀρθόω (to make straight) · bg изправям (to make straight) · ca redreçar (to make straight) · gl desempenar (to make straight) · mi whātika (to become straight) · sv räta (to make straight) · nl rechten (to make straight) · cmn 掰直 (to make heterosexual) · hu kinyújt (to make straight) · nl recht worden (to become straight) · fi suoristaa (to make straight) · ta நிமிர்ந்து நில் (to stand up) · hu kihúzza magát (to stand up) · es destorcer (to make straight) · es estirar (to make straight) · ru вы́прямиться (to become straight) · pt endireitar (to make straight) · hu feláll (to stand up) · io rektigar (to make straight) · pt alisar (to make straight) · hu kiegyenlít (to put in order; to sort; to tidy up) · izh ojeta (to become straight) · ca adreçar (to make straight) · su lelempeng (to make straight) · izh ojata (to make straight) · pl wyprostować (to make straight) · hu elrendez (to put in order; to sort; to tidy up) · fi suoristua (to become straight) · es enderezar (to make straight) · ru вы́прямить (to make straight) · grc εὐθύνω (to make straight) · it drizzare (to make straight) · nl zich rechten (to become straight) · mi whakatika (to stand up) · nl overeind springen (to stand up) · rup ndreptu (to make straight) · gl endereitar (to make straight) · ar اِسْتَقَامَ (to become straight) · nl rechtmaken (to make straight) · hu egyenesbe hoz (to put in order; to sort; to tidy up)